My name is Zara Ashraf, and I am a current NCTJ Journalism student and aspiring Journalist. 

I am excited to be working as a blogger with Devote Radio, creating a ten-part series on a topic of my choice. This series will begin with anticipated cinema watches and my personal favourite movies of 2025 and 2026, even including cartoons. Film fanatics are up for a treat!

This week, we will be diving into an anticipated romance directed by Kristoffer Borgli, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. Some of his previously directed films include Dream Scenario and Sick of Myself. 

The Drama really is The Drama!

WARNING - potential spoilers 

Plot

The film begins with the backstory of Charlie Thompson and Emma Harwood, detailing how they later became a happily engaged couple. Charlie met Emma at a Cafe in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States and decided to approach her, seemingly to get close by pretending he had read the book she was reading at the time. She ignored him, but later Charlie approached her again, and Emma explained why she couldn't hear him. She tells him to start his act over again.

The encounter leads to a date, and two years later, marriage plans are approaching for the couple. They have a small dinner with their best man and maid of honour, Mike and Rachel. As the dinner progresses, the group begin asking each other the worst thing they have ever done. Stories unfold, and Emma reveals her dramatic teenage story.

The group prepare for Charlie and Emma's wedding, under friend constraints and awkward behaviour. The couple grow agitated with each other as preparations won't go smoothly. Charlie asks for advice from a coworker at his office named Misha, but later regrets his actions after their encounter turns sideways.

Fast forward to their wedding day, and the awkwardness is still lingering. Emma finds out what happened between Charlie and Misha. But Charlie is determined to power through the wedding plans and recites a forced speech for his partner, ending the day at home with a bloody face after Emma left when the chaos began.

He searches for Emma and eventually ends up at the couple's favourite diner spot. Emma later enters and sits opposite Charlie in a booth. They begin re-introducing themselves in a hopeful plan to start over. 

Emma (Zendaya)

A character who tries her very best to persevere and make things work when faced with difficult situations. She's calm and collected but can be feisty when she wants to. She's a woman who wants her soon-to-be marriage to work out, despite her teenage years. Emma tries to encourage Charlie to forget about her past and her old character by urging him to forgive her and start over. I believe Emma wanted to show how she had changed and transitioned from her teenage years to her adult years, and was no longer the person she was when she was a teen. 

Charlie (Robert Pattinson)

Charlie ignores Emma's lack of humanity, rather so, to be with the so-called love of his life. He had a rather fairy-tale-like perception of Emma, a perfect woman, a perfect marriage, therefore a perfect life. But when he discovers her story, Charlie goes to extreme lengths to continue believing she still is his perfect woman. We see Charlie's behaviour change as the movie progresses; he overthinks and assesses situations even when he aims to seek clarity that Emma is a good person through workplace colleagues.  

Overall

The Drama is a worthy cinema watch for those interested in romances with twists and turns. The flashbacks between Emma and Charlie's past and current encounters made me understand how a story can change the relationship between two people in a matter of time. It is a movie which presents the realities of love and how blinding it can be, even when situations become messy and entangled.