Postmodern Romance

SPOILERS

“Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” - Sigmund Freud

The best trailers are the ones where I come away thinking, “Wow that looks great, I have no idea what it’s about.” The Drama was one of those experiences. What begins as your standard coffee shop “meet cute” then subverts your expectations into a darkly postmodern romantic comedy. Director Kristoffer Borgli, a man with a questionable past that I will touch on, begs some interesting questions out of the viewer and skillfully walks the fine line between genuine humor and past trauma. 

As someone who enjoys a good hypothetical every once and awhile, The Drama presents a thought provoking one— especially in today’s state of affairs. How do you discuss a mass shooting that never occurred? How do you bear the anxiety of marrying someone you do not truly know? How do you reckon with a loved one's dark thoughts, even if those thoughts have passed? After a few glasses of white wine our yuppy double date entourage start pondering on the question of what’s the worst thing each has done. The writing of this scene is composed so tightly, as the flow of conversation leading to Emma’s (Zendaya) reveal is spontaneously natural. The film sharply pivots, as does the energy between friends when she drunkenly admits to planning a school shooting as a struggling teenager only to back out after seeing the fallout of one in her community. 

You would think Robert Pattison would be the shooter

The character of Rachel (Alana Haim of Licorice Pizza) offers an interesting counter-argument in the film and forces the viewer to face some moral questions. With a cousin who was a victim of mass shootings, Rachel is the most offended by Emma’s revelation and vehemently calls her out. It's necessary that the movie not romanticize that behavior and it does make sure to convey the youthful ignorance of Emma that swept her into those internet subcultures that do those very things. It disarms their power with humor, showing her missteps as kid while also validating her pain. Though in that very scene of playing ‘what's the worst thing you've ever done’ Rachel playfully admits to locking a neighborhood kid in a closet in an abandoned RV until he was found by a rescue party. I think that character detail was included for a reason. The lack of remorse in her recounting of the story is of pure privilege and a life with no consequences. Which tend to be the loudest virtue signalers among us. Her character understandably challenges Emma on the weight of her past thoughts, but Rachel represents the morally indignant outcry of yuppie white-privilege.

Charlie (Robert Pattinson) is haunted by the thought of Emma’s past even if she never carried through with it. What if those feelings lie dormant? Each flash of their wedding photographer’s camera illuminates the muffled regret plastered on his face, with eyes that are draining of passion in real time and body language that is disassociating. Who else can convey a tortured soul like ol’ Bobby Patt? Zendaya too is great in the role of neurotic, half deaf bride to be, along with Jordyn Curet as the socially awkward teenage version of Emma. When you go see an A24 movie co-starring Zendaya and you sit through two blockbuster trailers that also have Zendaya in it, you begin to feel a bit like you are in The Matrix. 

For a dialogue driven drama there is a cool array of editing, audio, and framing choices that really engage your eyes and ears (or ear). Centering on a character who is deaf in one ear, the audio plays around with diegetic sound choices and snaps the viewer into Emma’s experience. Similar to the effects of a high angle shot, Borgli fancies a framing technique that leaves a lot of head space above the actor; making them feeling small, out of place, and heightening the awkwardness of a moment. Awkwardness so strong that I felt an entire theater cringe in secondhand embarrassment. The entirety of The Drama is the buildup and prep to Charlie and Emma's wedding, so as a matter of course the actual wedding day must mark the climax. Indeed it is a splendid affair of discomfort, a social car accident you cannot peel your eyes from. Imagine every intrusive thought you've had and then repeat them out loud in front of a formal gathering of friends and family.

Like Jack Nicholson in Chinatown, Christian Slater in True Romance, or Tyler, the Creator in Marty Supreme, seeing bandaged faces or a blackened eye in promotional stills creates their own suspense and a mystery in itself. It is its own little bit of dramatic irony as you know going into the viewing that at some point physical conflict will come knocking. His face swollen and battered, his wedding tux stained with blood, Charlie and Emma end the film the same way it began. They start over. Except now the slate is clean, the uncomfortable truths have now come to surface (rather messily), instead of laying dormant in the deeper mantle of her conscience. Just like the Freud line that Charlie quoted, buried feelings eventually rise to the surface much darker.  The dingy, late night Boston diner is also a nice touch, and a fitting callback to Emma’s comment about the tradition of actors going out and ordering burgers in their dresses and tuxedos after winning their Oscar. There's just nothing better than a diner in movies.

What else does the Norwegian writer and director Kristoffer Borgli fancy other than camera angles and dolly zooms? Highschool girls, unfortunately. The matter of that fact alone is one thing, but to publish a five paragraph essay in one of Norway’s most well-read magazines warmly recounting his fling with a girl who, to borrow his own words, “wasn’t old enough to vote”, firmly raises an eyebrow or two. There’s even a unironic Woody Allen name drop in there, and high praise for Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson's relationship in Lost in Translation. Yeah he's that kind of pretentious. Themes of misguided youth and forgiveness in a relationship ring a little differently after reading his little journalistic contribution in 2012. 

That being said, Jesse Rae’s “Inside Out” will have over a million streams by summer. Mark my words.