Smart Drama a cautionary tale for today
A cautionary tale for today, Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama is a movie that thrives on making its characters and the viewer uncomfortable. Handling hot button topics with a commendable deft touch, the film puts social media era relationships under the microscope, as well as our ever-shifting perspectives of one another. As if that weren’t enough, it also examines the notions of forgiveness and redemption, looking at how individuals mete them out, often based on their own experiences in receiving or having been denied them.
Charlie and Emma (Robert Pattinson and Zendaya) have the world on a string. Both have good jobs, enabling them to live in a tony apartment in New York City and they are head over heels in love. They are a week away from getting married, taking dance lessons, tasting cakes and putting other last-minute touches on their big day.
However, things suddenly go off the rails when they meet their married friends, Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alana Haim) for dinner. All having had a bit too much wine, it’s suggested they play a game in which each reveals the worst thing they’ve done. They all agree and while each confession is revealing, what Emma admits to sets the other three back on their heels. Rachel attacks her, Mike tries to be understanding and find some middle ground, and poor Charlie begins to wonder if he wants to go through with the marriage.
Without question, Emma’s confession is a shocker but not one so outlandish it would be unbelievable. Through long, agonizing conversations between her and Charlie, we and he come to find out things about her childhood and teen years that are all too common but not discussed nearly enough. Borgli walks a fine line throughout, neither condoning nor condemning what Emma contemplated. The fact that she only planned to do something but never went through with it brilliantly muddies the waters, our and Charlie’s judgment of her on shaky ground because of it.
Borgli’s smart script also puts Charlie and Rachel in the crosshairs, their subsequent behavior toward Emma becoming questionable as well. Is the latter justified in her fury even though the act wasn’t committed? And when Charlie suffers a mental health crisis and commits an inappropriate act, is he worthy of forgiveness? Does he recognize that the understanding he’s seeking regarding his behavior should apply to Emma’s past (in)actions?
Not only do these acts affect Charlie and Emma’s relationship, but it changes the way in which they view and treat others. When they begin to suspect the DJ they’ve hired of questionable behavior, which has not been irrefutably confirmed, their judgment toward her is extreme, unwarranted and hypocritical.
Challenging films such as this are all too rare and it’s exhilarating watching it unfold. There are surprises aplenty and while the third act approaches the edge of coming outlandishness, the solid work by the cast keeps it grounded. Zendaya, who’s always struck me as being too stoic for her own good, shows range I didn’t realize she possessed. She is truly remarkable in bringing to life the variety of emotions Emma goes through. Pattinson is just as good, the actor more than up to the task of portraying the unraveling of Charlie with power and poignancy. The actor shows a vulnerability here I hope he revisits in future projects.
Sure to prompt many a post-screening discussion, The Drama poses many questions regarding human nature and provides no easy answers. Is it better to operate under the notion that whatever I don’t know won’t hurt me in regard to my romantic partner and friends? How harshly should we judge someone’s actions as a teenager? Who is worthy of forgiveness and a chance at redemption?
While the obvious lesson of the film is to never play the confessional game that causes all the trouble, the more important theme is that of understanding. On multiple occasions Emma asks for a do-over, sometimes over trifles, while at other times for more serious actions. By being given a second chance, she is aware of the importance and power of offering it to others. Only by recognizing our own faults and those of others can we ever hope to understand one another. In the end, having blossomed after offered a chance at redemption, Emma displays a sense a grace the others lack. Charlie reaches a point where he’s in need of this gift. Had he not gone through the trial he had, he’d be unable to recognize its value. In Theaters.
Ridiculous Thrash a ludicrously good time
The very definition of a “guilty pleasure,” Tommy Wirkola’s Thrash revels in its ever-increasing ridiculousness. Laden with incident, one outlandish moment trips on the heels of the next, this dense 86-minute movie features a hurricane, killer sharks, a very pregnant woman and a character struggling with agoraphobia. Oh, and I would be remiss if I did not mention that one of the sharks is pregnant. Yep, it’s a perfect B-movie storm that you’d be foolish to scoff at. It’s better enjoyed with a couple of beers and your buds on hand, yelling at the characters and their boneheaded decisions.
To Wirkola’s credit, he takes the time to mention climate change and its effects on the increased severity of hurricanes. The director quickly dispenses with this mandatory PSA so the fun can begin.
Annieville, South Carolina is the locale of these shenanigans. It’s about to be wiped off the map by Hurricane Henry, a storm one meteorologist says is the reason they should create a Category 6 classification. He’s not kidding, as it tears through the town’s levee like it was made of tissue paper. Seems global warming has not only contributed to the strength of hurricanes, but it’s also increased the temperature of the ocean, meaning killer sharks have now moved to waters farther north. Needless to say, they hurry through the breach, eager to get in line for the Annieville Smorgasbord.
Those on the menu include Dakota (Whitney Peak), a woman struggling with the loss of her parents, having sequestered herself in their home; Dee, Ron and Will Olsen (Alya Browne, Stacy Clausen and Dante Ubaldi), three siblings in foster care who’ve witnessed their guardians munched up by the invading alpha predators; Lisa (Phoebe Dynevor), a woman on the verge of giving birth; and Dale (Djimon Hounsou), Dakota’s uncle, who happens to be a marine biologist, on hand to dispense handy shark information when needed.
The film’s strong suit is its portrayal of the killer storm. Seamlessly blending footage of real hurricanes with the best water-laden nightmares CGI can provide, Wirkola keeps his camera at water-level, putting the viewer in the path of the disaster. This creates some genuinely unnerving moments, these sequences are so well-done, they deserve to be seen on the big screen.
These realistic scenes are undercut by the ludicrous nature of the story. When Lisa’s mother asks if she’s given any thought to having a water birth like her sister, well, you know what’s in her immediate future. Adding insult to injury, the house she’s sought shelter in collapses around her when she’s in labor. As for the Olsens, you have to give these kids props – they are tenacious. Skipping from one kitchen counter to the next in the flooded house they’re trapped in, they come up with an ingenious solution to the marauding sharks involving dynamite and pork chops.
The climax, which involves three sharks on the hunt, Lisa and her newborn floundering in a flooded street and Dakota paddling desperately to save them has to be seen to be believed. While it does not reach Sharknado levels of absurdity, it’s such a ludicrous conclusion you can’t help but appreciate it.
And that’s the way Thrash should be watched. This is a check-your-brain-at-the-door piece of entertainment, one best enjoyed with friends and libations, watched at the end of a hard day/week. Hardly art, this sort of movie serves a purpose as well. No awards are coming its way, but in providing a silly respite from the workaday world, it serves a purpose. Streaming on Netflix.
This article appears in April 9-15, 2026.
