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Zendaya wearing pink posing at a red carpet event
Zendaya wearing pink posing at a red carpet event
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Northwestern | Culture > Entertainment

What Would You Forgive for Love? ‘The Drama’ Movie Review

Emily Pasillas Student Contributor, Northwestern University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northwestern chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

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Romance? Horror? Comedy? Thriller? The Drama leaves you questioning what movie you just watched, not fitting neatly into any conventional genre. However, it does live up to its name with the unexpected twists and turns it throws at the audience, causing verbal responses of laughter, disgust, and second-hand embarrassment all in under two hours.

The Drama surprises viewers with an unconventional take on pre-wedding cold feet when Emma, played by Zendaya, reveals a frightening secret to her soon-to-be husband, Charlie, played by Robert Pattinson. In a supposed-to-be-lighthearted game, Emma reveals the worst thing she’s ever done to her fiancé and friends, leaving the group floored with how disproportionately bad her confession was. The Drama forces the audience to confront the question of: “What would you excuse for love?” The couple tries to navigate moving on from a hard truth that threatens to sour their imminent wedding. 

This modern romance pushes viewers to examine what true love really is and what their “red flags” or “deal-breakers” are in a relationship. In the end, the couple is able to survive their almost relationship-ending secret, though it manifests in self-doubt and disillusionment in Pattinson’s character, Charlie. The weight of the truth pushes Charlie to cheat on Emma just days before the wedding in a moment of weakness. 

At the end of the movie, viewers are left questioning whether the couple should stay together or if too much happened for a breakup to be necessary. The Drama tests a viewer’s ability to wonder what they would do in such a situation and whether they would be able to radically accept the faults of their partner. The ending also forces the audience to wonder if love is really enough in a relationship, as the couple chooses to simply “restart” when they reintroduce themselves in the final scene of the movie, erasing all the drama that came before. 

So the question that’s left is… What would you forgive for love?

Emily Pasillas

Northwestern '29

Emily Pasillas is a first-year student at Northwestern University where she is majoring in Political Science and Creative Writing. She is passionate about social justice and international relations, in which she hopes to work for the United Nations. She has been Editor-in-Chief of her high school's publication, worked at a local magazine, and is a devo member for The Daily Northwestern. At Northwestern Emily is also involved in Model United Nation's, Political Union, and more. In her free time she loves grabbing coffee and going on runs.