“I was naive to think I was going to a romantic comedy,” one Instagram user wrote about the new film The Drama by director Kristoffer Borgli and studio A24 — and that reaction is just one of many online as debate around the film intensifies. The dark romantic comedy starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson has sparked a public backlash in recent days, drawing sharp criticism and calls to add a trigger warning at the start of the film. Why? Spoilers ahead.
Although journalists attending press screenings as part of the film’s publicity campaign were asked not to reveal its dramatic and unsettling twist, the plot point has since become a focus of public discussion and criticism — from gun violence prevention groups to the father of a victim of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
The spoiler: about 25 minutes into the film, during a pre-wedding game in which participants are asked to reveal “the worst thing they’ve ever done,” Zendaya’s character confesses to her fiancé (Pattinson) that in high school she “almost carried out a mass shooting” — bringing a gun to school with the intent to shoot her classmates, but ultimately backing out.
The film’s poster suggests a typical romantic wedding movie, and its official synopsis describes “a happily engaged couple get put to the test when an unexpected revelation sends their wedding week off the rails.”
In recent days, however, critics have argued that the film may be triggering and that it treats a serious subject too lightly. The gun violence prevention organization March For Our Lives issued a statement saying: “With a subject this serious, especially in the U.S., that conversation cannot begin and end on screen. It has to carry through in how the film is presented. We understand that art can provoke discomfort and use humor to approach difficult subjects. But when something like a school shooting is treated lightly or played for irony, it raises a deeper question: what kind of conversation is this meant to start?”
The organization added: “The filmmakers and actors have said this film will spark conversation. We hope it does. But on a topic that touches so many American lives, there is a responsibility to help shape that conversation in a productive direction, not just provoke it. The way this film has been marketed is deeply misaligned with the reality it engages. We expect better from A24 and the artists behind it.”
In an interview with IndieWire, the group’s executive director Jaclyn Corin — herself a survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting — added that “leaving [the marketing] up in the air and not taking responsibility and discussing how heavy and real world that topic is is a missed opportunity at best, but harmful at worst.”
Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was killed in the Columbine massacre and who has since become a prominent gun reform advocate, told TMZ he finds it hard to believe anyone thought school shootings were appropriate material for a romantic comedy, even a “dark” one. He called it “awful” that this was the twist chosen to destabilize the central relationship, adding that incorporating such a theme into a romantic film starring Zendaya “humanizes” shooters and may even “normalize” such events.
Corin, who survived a shooting that left 17 people dead, was also asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether casting high-profile stars like Zendaya and Pattinson could lend a “cool factor” to the idea of planning a shooting — and she agreed.
“That was my biggest concern upon hearing about the plot,” she said. “When you have someone like Zendaya and Robert Pattinson attached to a project, they both — separately, but also especially together — bring an enormous amount of attention and cultural weight. They are icons for a lot of young people. That can be a real asset if the project is handled with care, but it also means that the message reaches audiences who might not otherwise engage with the issue. It raises the stakes.”
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Vigil for victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland
(Photo: AFP)
On X (formerly Twitter), one user wrote: “I wasn’t prepared for this movie, and it made me uncomfortable. The twist is quite disturbing, and I think it will be difficult for many people.” Alongside the criticism, the film has also received positive responses abroad and online, with some arguing it offers an interesting take on a complex question — whether people can change and whether we can forgive those closest to us for the worst things they have done.
The question now is whether the controversy will hurt the film’s box office performance — or draw more viewers out of curiosity. Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s film school, told New York Magazine: “On a whole, audiences will tolerate controversy if they’re pleased with the film and it gets good buzz, but no movie company wants somebody else stealing the narrative. The whole point of marketing is you define your message and get it out there. Suddenly, here’s this train that is crossing your path and coming against you. That’s dangerous, no matter what the film is. It’s going to harm your message.”
Younger audiences associated with the A24 brand have already been exposed to the controversy and spoilers, which could influence reception. “We are living in a hyperconscious media era,” Galloway added. “Any little thing can become a wildfire. It’s not just social media. It’s that there is something in the times that is making people look for things to be upset by to a far greater degree than ever before.”
On the other hand, some believe Zendaya’s popularity may offset any negative impact. “A24 distinguishes between a problem and a real threat,” an industry executive told New York Magazine. “This feels like an issue: a PR scuffle, a distraction to the overall campaign. But for A24’s upscale audience, Zendaya doing something old, new, borrowed, and blue around the world matters more. The audience won’t be deterred because of the plot.”
Since its release, the film — which has yet to receive an Israeli release date — has grossed $6.4 million in North America, in line with expectations. It remains to be seen whether the controversy will intensify, drawing in more organizations and public figures, or fade as a passing media storm.