Editor’s note: The following article contains some spoilers for The Drama.
Ahead of last night’s premiere of Kristoffer Borgli‘s The Drama, gun violence prevention organization March for Our Lives released a statement calling out the A24 dark romantic comedy’s “deeply misaligned” marketing campaign.
On Thursday, the student-led advocacy group posted a disclaimer to Instagram, noting that while the org didn’t want to spoil the film’s premise, it had the obligation to discuss the themes presented in the Zendaya and Robert Pattinson two-hander. While much of the press tour has side-stepped conversation regarding its subject matter, what has been billed as the film’s “twist” reveals itself early on in the runtime, as Zendaya’s bride-to-be Emma reveals the worst thing she’s ever done is orchestrate a mass shooting at her school — though she did not go through with it.
“The film may be attempting to engage real questions about accountability and change, but A24’s marketing does not meet it there,” the statement reads. “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?”
While the nonprofit hopes the film does, indeed, “spark conversation,” as indicated by Borgli and the actors, it maintained “there is a responsibility to help shape that conversation in a productive direction, not just provoke it.”
The statement concludes: “That expectation only grows when the artists involved have this level of cultural influence. 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 additional interview with IndieWire, March for Our Lives executive director Jaclyn Corin 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.”
A24 had no comment on the matter when asked by the publication.
Last week, TMZ also published an account from Tom Mauser, the parent of a child who was killed during the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre, in which he called the film’s premise “awful” and noted he was bothered by what he perceived to be a frivolous dismissal of the movie’s contents.
Corin concluded to IndieWire: “I’d acknowledge the concern directly, not defensively, but just a clear recognition that people are having this reaction, because it’s real. When families and survivors are expressing discomfort, that should be met with respect. Offering more clarity on tone and intent, giving audiences a better sense of what the film is actually trying to do. The claim that they hope this film sparks conversation, they can maybe host a conversation themselves with the director, filmmaker, or the actors and actresses involved, actually exemplifying what a productive and serious conversation about gun violence looks like.”
Critical reviews for the film have been somewhat mixed, even as they have praised its lead stars and supporting cast. In his take, Deadline’s Pete Hammond called The Drama “a darkly funny, yet explosively honest movie” that “may not be what you expect at all going in, but one that is bound to spark spirited conversation when you are walking out.”
