The Drama First Reviews: Audiences Will Say ‘I Do’ to This Unexpected Dramedy
Critics say A24's newest project is set to be one of 2026's most talked about films.
A24’s The Drama, which arrives in theaters April 3, has immediately cemented itself as one of the studio’s most provocative and talked-about releases.
Led by Robert Pattinson and Zendaya, and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, The Drama leans into the kind of dark, discomforting humor that audiences love. The film centers on an engaged couple in the days leading up to their wedding, when a shocking revelation begins to unravel their relationship. As tensions escalate, what starts as a love story spirals into — you guessed it — lots of drama. Early reviews suggest audiences should be prepared for a visceral experience. Equal parts hilarious and haunting, the film invites nervous laughter as often as it does discomfort, leaving viewers debating its meaning long after the credits roll.
Here’s what critics are saying about The Drama:
How are the performances?
It’s Zendaya’s movie. Her layered performance holds back then lets go as Emma’s full complexity is gradually revealed. If you can’t get on board with Emma, then you’re the problem — which partly is Borgli’s intention.
— G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
Both Zendaya and Pattinson strike a perfect balance between a loving couple you want to see figure it out and the right amount of tension that makes The Drama a fascinating watch.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
Anchored by two compelling performances and a premise that sparks conversation long after the credits roll.
— David Gonzales, The Cinematic ReelAs for the stars they could not be better, especially Pattinson who shows levels of vulnerability I have not noticed before. His journey into the dark side with his financee is pitch perfect.
— Pete Hammond, DeadlineZendaya has the difficult task of creating a woman who has the charm and charisma to make Charlie fall in love with her, while also conjuring someone who is completely unknowable with a complicated past.
— Sophia Ciminello, AwardsWatch
Robert Pattinson and Zendaya are perfectly cast, with each getting to play to their strengths.
— Bill Bria, SlashfilmBoth leads turn in strong performances. Zendaya’s is the more quietly powerful of the two, juggling the heavy emotions of a wedding with her world quickly falling apart around her. Meanwhile, Pattinson is like a manic roller coaster on screen, increasingly off the rails as the weight of Emma’s reveal has Charlie questioning everything and reacting badly to the situation.
— Brian Truitt, USA Today
Pattinson is sublime at playing the unexamined dolt (see him also in Damsel and High Life) and this film feels like a potent palate cleanser after his previous dramedy misfire, the cartoonish Die My Love.
— Kevin Maher, The Times (UK)
How’s the story?
The Drama is daring, intelligent and expertly judged in its unexpected and taboo-breaking approach to a heavy and highly sensitive topic. If you don’t watch it, you’re missing out.
— Torie Brazier, Metro
Teetering on the edge of tastelessness and pushing touchy buttons with diabolical delight, The Drama is the most provocative American movie I’ve seen since Eddington.
— Sean Burns, WBUR’s Arts & Culturure
The Drama‘s squirm-inducing, watch-through-your-fingers-style comedy stands a greater chance of alienating mainstream audiences than enraging them.
— Jackson Weaver, CBC News
It offers us a provocation, a jeu d’ésprit of outrage, a psychological meltdown that is more astutely articulated than in many another more solemnly intended film. And it gives us what it promises in the title.
— Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
As dark as it gets, it is often hilarious in that cruel, keen way that Borgli has proved to be a specialist.
— Emma Stefanksy, Empire Magazine
A wonderfully thorny exploration of primordial desires for connection, destruction, and stability.
— Natalie Keogan, AV ClubOne of the boldest, brashest movies in some time… When not giddily tearing apart the rom-com, Borgli asks really major thematic questions with his controversial subject matter.
— Brian Truitt, USA Today
What about that twist?
Like the impish anti-romance that crumbles around it, the movie’s twist is both transgressive enough to be pleased with itself and also rooted in a reality that refuses to be dismissed as a bad joke.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Without giving the twist away, Borgli’s thrives on ambiguity and emotional discomfort. He often leans into awkward interactions and small fractures in communication that hint at much larger cracks beneath the surface. Whatever you may have heard about a potential backlash, this is a far more nuanced and thought-provoking film than its premise might suggest.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
The choice of Emma’s secret ultimately works. The goal is not merely to trigger and manipulate our preconceptions, but to push past them; to consider the human underneath a label we’ve become all too familiar with.
— Alex Harrison, Screen RantIf you’re somewhat active on social media, you have likely heard rumblings about said twist and what it means to the film, or how people will respond to the film. It is a stunner, the kind that makes you wonder if the director is going to come out from behind the screen like Ashton Kutcher in Punk’d after the audience finishes gasping in shock.
— Brandon Lewis, FandomWire
Are there any problems?
The film’s balance of thorny laughs and thought-provoking themes is not always smoothly executed.
— Tim Grierson, Screen International
Highly effective but emotionally challenging…The Drama isn’t an easy film; its finish is too much like sandpaper to love.
— Sherin Nicole, RIOTUS
The Drama isn’t quite serious enough or silly enough to overcome the lack of momentum once the big reveal happens.
— Joey Magidson, Awards RadarThe Drama certainly won’t be for everybody, and it might also frustrate those who want resolution. There’s not an easy answer to be found to the central issue that’s raised here
— Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
How will audiences feel?
It’s a deeply uncomfortable film, good for some nervous laughter, and is a movie that is sure to spark intense conversations.
— Travis Hopson, Punch Drunk Critics
A haunting character study that will surely have viewers feverishly debating with one another as they walk out of the theater.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
It is prickly, ugly, hilarious, and destined to divide audiences. But even when it threatens to spin out, it remains gripping.
— Caralynn Matassa, CBRIf you want to laugh, cringe, cry, and just have a good time in a room packed full of fans, please do yourself a favor and see The Drama.
— Rihaana Stephens, Geeks of ColorIt’s provocative and compulsively watchable — a romcom that obliterates the very meaning of the word by thrusting love underneath the psychoanalyst’s microscope and tearing laughter by force from its audience’s throats.
— Clarisse Loughrey, Independent (UK)
The Drama releases in theaters April 3.
