The Drama Movie Review

​Norwegian writer/director Kristoffer Borgli gave Nicholas Cage an excellent vehicle to become a living nightmare in the high-concept, thought-provoking film “Dream Scenario.” Now here comes some serious drama.

“The Drama” starts with a Meet Cute and a “little white lie.” Oh! It’s harmless. He, Charlie (Pattinson), just wants to try to make conversation with her and get to know her, Emma (Zendaya), the woman sitting across from him in a café, whom he finds mysterious and attractive. What better way to do that than to watch her until he figures out a way to see the book she’s reading? Then he can look up said book on the internet, find out all about it giving him a reason to introduce himself. Saying hello would probably have worked out, as well, but I guess you could argue the extra effort is kind of… a compliment.

Anyway, they get to know one another, time passes, and they’re out to dinner with friends, discussing their wedding plans, among other things. While chatting about Emma and Charlie’s big day, Rachel (Haim), the Maid of Honor, and Mike (Athie), the Best Man, who are enjoying a lot of wine, ask for a round of questions. Rachel asks what was the worst thing each of them has ever done. Charlie and Emma laugh at the idea, but what can be the harm? They’re in.

Charlie goes first. His was thought to be boring. He had participated in some cyber-bullying. It’s thought of as lame. Mike tells his. He once used an old girlfriend as a shield against a dog attack. Not very nice! Rachel, who walks around through life believing she’s the nicest person on two feet, can’t, and isn’t happy (rightly so), about revealing hers. When she was a teen, she locked someone in a closet… and left them there, never really knowing the full story of how long it took for the child to be found. That’s pretty awful, honestly. Scary for the victim. Without telling you, Emma’s, it’s her story the movie centers around.

The movie fastens itself around the plans of the wedding, where much of the comedy comes from. Once Emma’s revelation is taken in, the three who heard it act differently toward her and around her, no matter the situation. Smiling happy wedding photos are to be shot (shot being a key word), and Charlie has a hard time acting as though he’s joyful. What she told them, which was something she merely thought about for a very short time, is being blown out of proportion in their minds. Or is it? Can you tell from the scenes shown? Are they coming from a memory, or someone’s interpretation of events? Well, it was a thought she had when she was a teenager. Couldn’t she reveal that to them all these years later during a game? They can’t see that she’s the person in front of them today, not who she may have become had life not gone down the path it did?

No. They see her differently, now, and can’t get past her response in the game they asked her to play. They seem to blame her for the real-life examples of the things happening, as if she were the one who had done them. Rachel is terrible to her, not considering what she did in her past.

The movie is good, but it is a difficult watch and, predictably, a bit too tidy at the end. There will be two very distinct camps watching this film. Viewers will be with her or against her. Watch it and see which camp you’re in. “The Drama” has a good storyline, and Pattinson is terrific. He carried the crazy by showing love for someone he’s alarmed by, very well. I didn’t expect what I got when I walked into the theater. I hope you get the same experience. Watch without knowing more than you know from reading this. There’s a lot going on in this narrative; see it and look for some of the deeper messages.