The Drama, directed by Kristoffer Borgli and starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, is a film that is clearly engineered to provoke, unsettle, and divide its audience.

On a craft level, it lands at about a 7. The narrative is structurally engaging, the pacing holds attention, and the performances are strong across the board. Zendaya and Pattinson both fully commit to the material, grounding a story that could have easily unraveled under the weight of its own ambition. It is also undeniably the kind of film that invites discussion and lingers in conversation well beyond its runtime, which feels very in line with A24’s recent output. At this point, the studio has carved out a niche for anxiety-inducing, discomfort-driven storytelling, and this film continues that trend.

What the film does effectively is center itself on the fallout of its central reveal. The tension builds in a way that feels deliberate, and there are moments where the characters are forced to sit in discomfort, which is where the film is at its strongest. However, it would have benefited from spending more time with the supporting characters processing that reveal without the presence of the two leads. That distance could have deepened the film’s perspective and more clearly articulated the broader emotional and moral implications. Given how controversial the subject matter is, those viewpoints feel essential and somewhat underexplored.

The film’s central weakness lies in its reliance on shock as a storytelling device. While it does not appear to justify or excuse the actions at the core of its twist, the framing of such a heavy subject does not always feel matched by the depth of exploration that follows. This imbalance is likely why the film has been met with such divided reactions.

That division is further complicated by the real-world controversy surrounding Borgli, particularly a resurfaced essay that has drawn significant criticism. While external to the film itself, it inevitably shapes how audiences interpret its themes.

Ultimately, The Drama is an engaging and ambitious work that does not fully realize the weight of its ideas, leaving it suspended between provocation and meaning.