A24’s ‘The Drama’ is walking into theaters with a lot more baggage than its marketing let on. The dark comedy starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson was pitched with plenty of mystery, but the real source of tension is now out. And it is the kind of reveal that was always going to hit a nerve.
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli, the film follows engaged couple Emma and Charlie, played by Zendaya and Pattinson. Their relationship starts to unravel after Emma reveals that, as a teenager, she once planned a school shooting and brought her father’s gun to school, but did not follow through. That plot point alone has pushed the movie into a much heavier conversation than a typical indie release with two major stars.
Why Jackie Corin Says The Stakes Feel Higher
Jackie Corin, a Parkland survivor and co-founder of March for Our Lives, said the film reflects how deeply school shootings have entered American storytelling. But she also made clear that this is not material that can be handled lightly.
“Gun violence, particularly in schools, is not just another dramatic device,” Corin said. She added that art can build understanding, but it can also reduce real trauma into something more digestible than it should be.
That concern gets sharper because ‘The Drama’ reportedly plays the reveal partly for comedy. Corin did not dismiss humor outright. She acknowledged that people sometimes use it to process fear and grief. Still, she warned that the tone can land very differently for survivors, families, and kids who still live with that fear every day.
Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, And The Cool Factor Problem
Corin’s biggest concern was, unsurprisingly, the casting.
“That was my biggest concern upon hearing about the plot,” she said. With Zendaya and Pattinson attached, she argued, the film carries far more cultural weight than a smaller project ever would. They are not just actors here. They are star figures with enormous pull, especially among younger audiences.
That changes the temperature of the whole conversation. A story about a near school shooting is already volatile. Put two highly watched celebrities at the center, and the risk of glamorizing the idea, even unintentionally, becomes harder to ignore.
The release strategy has only added to the unease. A24 reportedly kept the school shooting angle out of the film’s public discourse, and early press events focused more on Zendaya and Pattinson’s friendship and chemistry. Corin seemed unimpressed by that choice, calling it “definitely an interesting strategy.” While that may have been a strategic choice to avoid spoilers, it would still help to see the stars address the issue of school shootings once the film has been out for a while.
Her broader point was simple. If stars take on material this sensitive, the film needs to justify that decision in a serious way. “I hope that they use their platforms to talk about gun violence responsibly because they chose to play these characters,” Corin said.
That is the real question hanging over ‘The Drama’ now. Not whether it will get attention. It already has that. The question is whether the stars and filmmakers will use that attention and platform to push a serious conversation about gun violence and school shootings.
