Film Review: THE DRAMA (2026): This Zendaya/Robert Pattinson Film is a Candidate for One of the Year’s Most Depressingly Bad Movies
The Drama Review
The Drama (2026) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli and starring Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, Hailey Gates, Sydney Lemmon, Hannah Gross, Anna Baryshnikov, Jordyn Curet, Michael Abbott Jr., Zoe Winters, Dee Nelson, Damon Gupton, Ken Cheeseman, Doria Bramante, Jordan Raf and Jeremy Levick.
Stars Robert Pattinson and Zendaya take a rare misstep in a boring, often flat and annoying film from filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, The Drama. Pattinson portrays a man named Charlie who takes a liking to a woman in a coffee shop, Emma (Zendaya), and all hell proceeds to break loose in a way only a poorly constructed film can inadequately demonstrate. Zendaya is tolerable at times, but Pattinson is definitely miscast and out of place as a guy who starts to lose his sanity as he begins to question his love for Emma over the course of several disturbing scenarios which play more frustratingly for the audience than for the characters themselves.
At the coffee shop, Emma is reading a book, so Charlie pretends to be reading the same book after he looks it up on his phone. Emma says she’s deaf in one ear and their awkward attempt later on at a conversation on a book Charlie hasn’t read makes for one of the year’s worst scenes in a major film. This film also stars Alana Haim in the film’s most disappointing turn as Rachel who becomes Emma’s Maid of Honor when Emma and Charlie are to be married. Haim’s weird performance is only topped by the even worse performance of Hailey Gates as Misha who almost enters into an affair with the confused Charlie which leads Misha’s boyfriend (Michael Abbott Jr.) to implausibly head-butt Charlie at the wedding.
Of course, it must be mentioned this film’s major hot topic issue is something which has been in the news prominently over the years. I won’t mention the subject matter because I won’t give in to the movie’s attempts at directing attention at itself when the script is almost always underdeveloped, really lame and even more frustrating to try to watch acted out than some of the worst films of 2025.
This film doesn’t know where it’s going. The wedding reception is not interesting enough to warrant the build-up to it and the ending set in a diner makes literally zero sense even if one has paid careful attention to the plot and character developments that have occurred throughout the picture.
Zendaya is stuck in a role far beneath her. There are talents Zendaya possesses that makes her part here come off as believable at times, but the script really sells her short as it reveals character traits that don’t ring true for Zendaya’s character. Pattinson is genuinely dull to watch as he orders a cheeseburger at the diner at the conclusion after being beaten up. He’s a poorly sketched character with little sense of self-awareness, making his ultimate fate something that the character has ultimately brought upon himself.
Haim is forced to play her role unconvincingly as she tries to mock Zendaya’s character at the wedding in front of an audience in a way that doesn’t adequately fit the character Haim is playing. Misha seems to want to have sex with Charlie but turns the tables on him at the reception with unfortunate results all around. The Drama starts to become a little interesting at the wedding with potential secrets that will come into light for the key players here. However, there is no real resolve to the situations the film proposes and the relationship between the leads’ characters never feels authentic save for a key moment or two within the middle portion of the movie.
The Drama is the type of movie one can somewhat admire for taking risks. However, Hollywood can’t afford to take risks like this anymore. There’s no audience for a film like this these days. It’s a movie with unlikable characters who put themselves in touchy situations which make them feel like they need therapy that the film never sufficiently provides them with. Instead, we’re left with characters doing stupid things for reasons only the screenwriter (who is, in fact, the director) is truly aware of. Everybody comes off looking ridiculous by the time the end credits roll.
It would be best to avoid The Drama as it doesn’t take a genuine stand on the material it proposes. Instead, it leaves the viewer with a feel-good ending that feels tacked on in a world where these people’s lives would be destroyed forever after the horrible events that occur throughout the picture. This is the kind of movie one dreads watching because it’s so maddening and it’s a film that one even hates reviewing because the actors have shown talent in projects from the past that is simply not on display here. Let’s hope this new movie can be stricken from their resumes.
Rating: 4/10
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