Zendaya and Robert Pattinson star in three different films this year, and their first to release has already stoked controversy on the day of its release.
The Drama stars the pair as Emma and Charlie, a pair of soon-to-be newlyweds whose relationship faces a major hurdle when Charlie discovers a horrifying secret about Emma weeks before their wedding.
The film has mostly received positive reviews with an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes and praise for Pattinson and Zendaya’s performances, but one aspect of the movie has been slammed by both campaigners and viewers.
The Drama’s marketing has largely centred around what Emma’s secret is, building up the idea that it’s an earth-shattering twist.
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Whilst many films would build up a twist of this magnitude however without a payoff, The Drama lives up to the viral marketing build up.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Drama from this paragraph onwards
Emma’s secret comes out at a dinner with another couple in which they say that before their wedding they admitted the worst thing they’d ever done.
Charlie is shocked however when Emma’s ends up being admitting that she had planned (but never carried out) a school shooting when she was younger.
The twist is a core part of the film, but viewers and campaigners have been heavily critical of it.
Fans said the twist was ‘tasteless’ and pure shock value
One fan said in a comment on an official Reddit reaction that the twist was ‘tasteless’, whilst another pointed to the idea that The Drama never fully justifies such a shocking reveal.
They said: “So the twist is not really a twist but the starting point of the movie. By minute 15, the secret is out and the movie really begins.
“The problem is that the movie doesn’t justify that one being her secret. It has no interest in discussing it thoughtfully.”
Another viewer suggested it was actually ‘sh*tty’ to not include the twist in the marketing, stating that ‘people should know this spoiler (that’s minutes into the movie, apparently) to know what they’re actually getting into’.
Fans however are not the only ones to be critical of the twist.
The father of a Columbine victim has hit out at The Drama
Speaking to TMZ, the father of a Columbine victim called the decision to use a potential school shooting as a twist ‘awful’.
Tom Mauser’s son Daniel was killed in the 1999 high school shooting that saw 13 students and one teacher murdered.
He claimed that the twist ‘humanizes’ shooters, however added that he had not yet seen the film.
Mauser also raised an issue with a Zendaya appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where she said: “I really hope that people don’t spoil it for each other so they’re allowed to go into it just unknowing and really experience the drama.” The father claimed she did not treat the big twist with the gravity it deserved.
The Drama is available to watch in cinemas now.
Topics: Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, TV and Film, Film
Michael Slavin