“Rob the average man of his life-illusion, and you rob him of his happiness at the same stroke.” ― Henrik Ibsen, The Wild Duck
So much has ben made of late about “don’t ask don’t tell” that the bold expression of honesty, the revelation of the darkest secret, is a rarity.Yet, Writer-director Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama reminds me so much of Ibsen’s Wild Duck, where doubt is left behind and reality exacts its toll. When the dark-comedy rom-com couple reveals with friends each’s dark secret, no one is ever the same. Ibsen was right that we all need a basic lie about ourselves.
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When Emma (Zendaya) reveals her secret, fiancé, Charlie (Rob Pattinson), seems to be changed forever, even catapulting him to thoughts of nixing the wedding. Although she never carried through with her deep longing, he cannot accept the reality of her thoughts
The dark comedy proceeds to reveal the truth’s profound effect on everyone until it seems Borgli has created a new horror demon—Truth. When we see this beautiful couple taking dance lessons, we are facing the stark combat to come between good and evil.
Borgli’s tonal shifts from past to present and innocence to transgression are not as jarring as might be thought—they represent the complex of humanity as it struggles with its interior darkness and its daily beauty. Our heroes are not so much miscreants as souls buffeted by fate and the snake in the garden.
After witnessing the young couple’s affection for each other and the corrosive nature of truth, Ibsen’s basic lie for each of us seems required, and whether we want the truth, the whole truth, is a personal choice with sinister ramifications.
The Drama holds truths for every filmgoer in a time when it is rarely found anyway.
“He is suffering from an acute attack of integrity.” ― Henrik Ibsen, The Wild Duck
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts NPR’s It’s Movie Time and Cinema Classics as well as podcasts Back Talk and Double Take (recently listed by Feedspot as two of the ten best NPR Movie Podcasts) out of WCBE 90.5 FM, Columbus, Ohio.Contact him at JohnDeSando52@gmail.com