The Moment reviews: The Drama

And I think that's just a really interesting discussion that people just enjoy having of, you know, would you love me if I was a worm? Yeah. Would you love me if I had planned a mass shooting? Where do you draw the line of "Forget where?" Where is the line? Hello and welcome to today's episode of the moment. I hope you had a great weekend. I'm fresh with news, hot off the presses and really there's lots of things that happened over the weekend, but there's one thing and only one thing I really need to talk about, and that's Madonna at Cacilla. Did you lose your mind? I lost my mind. I'll get to that in a deep, but I just want to let you know that I also took myself off to see the new film, The Drama, the one that stars in daya and Robert Pattinson, and my beautiful producer, Rochie Owl and I both saw it separately because we've decided to watch a film a month, so then we can talk about it and you can get involved as well. And we're going to dissect it, I think, would be a good term for how we approach this film. I'm really keen to find out what Roch thinks and I've got so many thoughts, so many thoughts. I don't actually know what to do with them, nor what the film really was, but we'll get to that as well. I did get a message from Katie in my InstaDM who also said, "I'm still trying to work out whatever hell that film was. I'm so confused." Was Roch confused? Were you confused? Is it a great film? Is it worth spending your heart and to go and see it? Well, we'll get to that very, very soon, but first back to Madonna at Cacilla. Some people might not know Cacilla runs for two weekends. It's not just that first weekend. And while last week was all about Justin Bieber, and yes, Bieber did bring out Billy Eilish and that was quite a well-documented moment, but she wasn't brought out to perform. She was actually brought out as a believer, and she was the subject which he often did at concerts of the song One Lonely Girl. So she got to be the one-line girl, and that was quite a lovely moment. However, when Sabrina Carpenter was up there on the stage and all of a sudden the sound of Madonna's Vogue started, we all knew what was going on, and we lost our minds. I certainly did. And I've seen footage of people on social media all over the world who also were just so excited by this, because this year at Cacilla is 20 years since Madonna launched her record confessions on a dance floor, and she's about to release the second one, or it's been rumoured for quite some time that it's on the way. And so to celebrate the 20 years, Sabrina invited Madonna up. Isn't that amazing? It wasn't just a handing over of the baton of incredible pop icons. It was a celebration, I think of the layers that a woman such as Madonna, as a performer, has been able to traverse through the course of her career. She's done everything and anything. She's an inspiration for so many of our contemporary pop girlies, and Sabrina made it a celebration from that angle, but for Madonna it was an acknowledgement of her contribution to pop and her contribution to contemporary music. And I just loved it. Madonna wore some of the clothing that she wore when she performed at Coachella 20 years ago. So the same leotard stockings. She looked amazing. Absolutely amazing. And I didn't realise how small she was either. She's the same hide as Sabrina Carpenter. And I actually had no idea. She was so little, so she's little like me. I love that when other people are little like me. Makes me feel like I've got something in common with them. Because I don't have their talent. But it was phenomenal. Madonna launched into Vogue and so did Sabrina Carpenter. Their voices sounded fabulous together. And whether or not, you know, there was any kind of tuning or whatever. I don't care or prerecords. I don't care. It was a magnificent celebration of the original pop diva, the queen of pop Madonna, and then she launched into a new single, which we hadn't heard as yet from Confessions on a dance floor. Part two. And the singles called "I Feel So Free" and it was fantastic. Can't wait to hear the rest of the record. And finally then it ended with a whole bunch of church choir singers to sing like a prayer. And within this song, Madonna and Sabrina changed the words which I thought was very interesting. The words were changed from "You are a mystery to you are a history" and acknowledgement of that historical moment that happened at Coachella. And genuinely, I think women of a certain age, especially of my generation and a little bit below, this was an incredibly meaningful moment. At a music festival that probably doesn't have as much significance as perhaps at once did in our younger days. So yeah, it was just lovely to acknowledge the longevity of Madonna, the groundbreaking nature of her career and her ability to still perform at 67, which is just wild to me. She even did some squats in there and I can't do squats to be frank. She's so cute. There was phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal. And actually, if you're interested, there's an excellent article that I will point you to right now and it's by a friend of mine who lives in New York and has for many, many years, Tiff Baker has written this article and Tiff's article is called "Lessbians Are Reclaiming Madonna" as we await her new album "Confessions on a Dancefloor Part 2". And she makes a really interesting point in her article is that gay men have always claimed Madonna as theirs and the group chat amongst gay men when Madonna performed the new song and the excitement around that was off the charts. But Tiff makes the point that Madonna was very formative in her generation, which is my generation and a lot of other young women at the time in recognising their sexuality. So Madonna played a huge role in that and that Madonna also gave the "Lessbians Are Nodin' a Wink" but it hasn't really been spoken about as much. And Tiff said Madonna had a huge impact in terms of discovering her own sexuality as a young queer kid growing up in a regional area like Jolong and Madonna was someone who made her look towards other worlds, ways of being and "Yeah, I think this is a really interesting perspective." So go and have a read as a gorgeous article, absolutely gorgeous. While I'm getting very excited about Madonna's performance and it certainly made me feel a lot of emotions as I watched it. I was just so happy to see it. Of course there was a lot of negative responses to her performance as well. Lots of comments saying that Madonna should just stop. Someone said, "Why is she embarrassing herself? We need an age limit for performers. This is inappropriate." And I think about those comments and they just make me furious. Where does that come from? Sadly they were predominantly from men but somewhere from women. As someone said too, probably from people who've never actually gone and done anything like this. So they sit in their little dungeons, basements, whatever, making comments like this. Just know though that Madonna does not see your comments. She does not give a rats ass about whether or not you like her performance. She never has. That has been her appeal. And that's why we loved her from day one. She did what she wanted. She took control. She evolved numerous times into a completely different artist again and again refusing to shy away regardless of whatever dickhead with an opinion says about her. I actually think this is something as women we should take inspiration from because she's showing us what we can do. She's showing us that we can continue to be in the arena and continue to show who we are and perform however we want. And no shade or disrespect to these artists but pop Dylan contour until he dies. And no one were about a night. Bruce Springsteen the same. Both brilliant. But no one says take it elsewhere please. You're too old. Off to the nursing home with you. This is inappropriate. And Madonna's wearing what she wore 20 years ago but as is Bruce Springsteen. He's still wearing a T-shirt jeans. It makes no sense anymore. Absolutely no sense. And Madonna is blatantly saying she won't be erased and by saying it she's saying it for all of us. So don't shy away from anything that you're doing regardless of age because frankly people are going to complain whether you do or you don't. So you might as well do. Just like Madonna and the other best bit that I love too and I forgot to mention was when Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter held hands while they were walking down the catwalk singing like a prayer. It was very very meaningful I think especially for those who followed music and pop music. In the history of pop women have always been pitted against each other. It's that old scarcity mentality that also has happened in work environments as well where there's only one woman for a job and we all have to compete with all the other women. So I think that's really interesting that they banded together as one showing division keeps us separate and therefore renders us powerless together or he can be a force. So pop that in your pipe and smoke it have a think about that and see what culturally some of these norms that we've grown up with how incredibly wrong they are and take inspiration from someone like Madonna who's always seen how to do things and she's always done them first so she's out there on stage so should you be whatever stage that might be at work at home do not disappear we don't have to and we're going to be criticized regardless of what we do so fuck it all. Just have fun. This is actually quite interesting. At Coachella 2 the [BLANK_AUDIO] who were big in the 2000s, they've had quite a resurgence of late as well. They ended their set on a very, very political note, they were just before Sabrina Carpenter, and they ended their set with really powerful imagery, and that imagery consisted of the destruction around the world that's been created and caused by the US, and also with references to the CIA, the execution of some world leaders, and also the bombing of universities in Iran and Gaza. And the footage ended with an AC-130 plane, which is also known as the Angel of Death, so it was a real comment on the destruction caused and created by America, which I think in a public forum is a pretty brave and gutsy thing to do. I guess at this age, a bit like me, we're all starting to feel like there's not much to lose at this point, and maybe the strokes have had that revelation and they're using their position for what they see as political good, and I commend them for that, absolutely. Let's talk about something that's kind of fun, but also kind of distressing, which is the new film, The Drama, Starring, Zendaya, and Robert Pattinson. My beautiful producer, Rochelle, hello! Hello! How are you? How was the weekend? I'm very good. Very good. When "In Sword the Drama" last night at Hoetz, had my dinner in the cinema kicked back. Dinner in the cinema? What did you have? Oh my goodness, I love this. I thought about it, but not done the film at one and done. The show must walk in with the takeaway bag. I got a burger, and there was an egg on the burger, and it was a media regret, because when I opened it in the cinema, I was like, "That smells eggy." You're that guy. I'm that guy. With the food. Anything you need to get through, we live busy lives these days. We both went and saw The Drama, I saw it here in Melbourne, you in Sydney, and this is of course the film that stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, and there a young couple who are about to get married. They're about a week away from the wedding, and everything looks fine. He's like a curator at one of the prestigious university museums, and I'm not entirely sure what Zendaya's character actually did, but it doesn't really matter, does it? Do you have any idea? No, I thought the same. I don't know what she does. She works in an office tip-taps away at a computer. Does a lot of tip-tapping, and obviously he's in charge, because there's underlings who work with her that are pivotal in the story as it moves on, but it's a really interesting movie. It's created by a 24-study on there. They're renowned for films like Marty Supreme and everything everywhere, all at once. They've got this real distinct kind of interesting take on moviemaking. The director Christopher Bolley, who I hadn't heard of before, he's a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. And he's created a tale that has been sold to me, I thought, as a romance, or some sort of rom-com, but it's none of that. I didn't find it particularly romantic and I didn't find it light and fluffy at all, but. No, I think when I did a deeper dive and looked at the producers, and I saw that Ari Aster was one of the producers, it makes sense that this movie is almost like a horror film. Ari Aster's known for her reddit tree and mid-summer, which is two of my favorite movies I love horror films. And recently, I've been doing it. I know. I love horror films and I think Ari Aster makes the best horror films. And so when I saw he was a producer, it really, I think, set the tone of what this was going to be. Very unnerving. Very unnerving and I had kept myself away from all the. whatever the magical plot twist was, I'd not heard anything genuinely. And I went in and I've got to say for the first half an hour, I did not know how to feel. I was so anxious because I couldn't work out what this film was and I think, even towards the end, I still don't know what it was, but it felt very unnerving from the get go. Then it just gets darker and darker and darker. Shall we talk about the plot twist? Do you think we can do it without talking about it? I think we have to talk about the plot twist. It's very early on in the film. So spoilers, we are going to talk about the big secret that Zendaya is holding. They're preparing for their wedding. They're trying to write their vows and in leading up to their wedding, they are sitting down with two of their best friends who are a couple. And they go around and they say that when they got married, they thought it was helpful to tell each other what's the worst thing they've ever done. And they go around the table and say what they have all done. Do you want to explain what they all did? Well, it's another couple who are going to be in the wedding party and they're both they're married to one another. And the character of Rachel, which is played brilliantly, I think, by Alana Haim, brings up the question and kind of dobs her partner in. And so he has to tell this story about how he used an ex-girlfriend as a human shield when a dog was attacking them and he used the excuse that she kicked the dog and that kind of made it okay. And then and then the Rachel character talks about how she locked a disabled kid in a cupboard. And he was left there overnight. She just left in there. He was eventually found. But anything could have happened to this poor kid in a creepy house. So there's two examples. Robert Pattinson then reveals that he's cyberbullied someone online to the point that they had to move out of town and then Zendaya drops hers. And I mean, that's where it goes in a completely other direction. She says she almost committed a mass shooting one day. She became obsessed with guns and was ready to commit a mass shooting and was only stopped because there was another one in the town on the same day. And so they all freak out about this. And this is the interesting conundrum that sets up the entire film. And that is how do you know your partner? How can you ever know your partner and also can moral redemption actually happen in somebody if they say that they're not that person anymore. How do you believe them? So there's there's two separate things going on and then it plays out for the rest of the film. But did you think this premise actually worked, Roch? I thought it was a really interesting premise. I did know what her secret was going into it. And I thought that it was a really interesting premise to the story because it is that fine line of, I can't be thought about something terrible, but you didn't do it. And where that line kind of is for people, because I think when you look at the other other people, maybe there's weren't so bad, but they actually did it. And they harmed people. They harmed people. And I think looking someone in a closet or cyberbullying someone to the point where they move schools, that's horrific. And they really downplayed the fact that they were children and that their brains weren't fully developed. But when Zendaya had this secret that she didn't even do, they didn't give her that same grace. They seem to have had that was that was their moral line. And they couldn't cope with that. And I think it made them feel better about what they did being able to villainize her for that. And I don't know how it could make them feel better for what they did because I thought what they did was actually harmful and had harmful results. Zendaya was showing herself to have a level of empathy that that the others didn't seem to have. And yet, here she was being the one who thought about committing what could have been the worst possible thing in something that's very current in America and very, very dangerous and a dangerous reality for many, many kids in schools and in public places. And so there's this sort of set up, but I didn't actually believe that Zendaya's character would do that because first and foremost, the huge majority of mass shooters are men. So it starts out that it's a woman who's and they sort of make thinly veiled references to another woman who also committed a mass shooting somewhere. But it just didn't sit with me. It's like, why are we trying to put this into something that's kind of unbelievable? And I don't think there've ever been any black women who've been mass shooters. So it's just a weird premise. I think that makes me feel like I couldn't quite believe it if it was a man. Yeah, I think it'd be easier to believe, but Zendaya's and she's so empathetic and sweet. Do you think if it wasn't Zendaya, maybe you could have believed it more? Yeah, I think so. I think so. I think that's where the disconnect happened for me. So I have a huge bias for Zendaya. I love her. Yeah. And so yeah, I wonder if it was another actress if I would have felt any less empathy for her. Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? What did you think of Zendaya's performance? And I think I called her Zendaya before. What the fuck? Oh, Zendaya's Zendaya. I think people say differently. What did you think of her performance though? And Robert Pattinson's? She was amazing. And again, I have a bias. I think everything she does is amazing. I think at the start, I maybe wasn't seeing them as Emma and Charlie. I was seeing them as Robert Pattinson and Zendaya. And in the beginning as I don't believe the relationship. I don't. believe that they're together, but as it went on, I think that lack of belief in their chemistry maybe was because Charlie and Emma didn't know the entirety of each other at that point. And as it went on, as the secret was revealed, as they kind of showed their ugly sides to them of themselves to each other, I did believe them together and I did believe their love for each other as they persisted through this chaotic time. What about you? Did you separate the character from the actors? I think initially same as you, but then on watching, I got really into it and I thought they were both fabulous. Zendaya has a depth to her that I think is unsurpassed at the moment. She's very simple in how she presents on camera, but every facial movement gives something the way she holds herself. It's a magic that I think only some of the greats have and I feel like she's got that. But Robert Pattinson, who I've never really been a fan of, I have to admit, I've never really warmed to him, but I thought he was really good in this film and in our actual fact, with the ending where it becomes quite devastating for him, where he becomes the worst person and does the worst thing, almost in response to what he's heard that Zendaya might have done. He almost became a different person in his acting and that's when, oh, there's a lot more here as well. There's a lot of depth to this guy. He looked different and he sounded different and I thought, okay, need to spend more time with this fella and find out what he's capable of. I totally agree. He was amazing and as he spiraled out of control, trying to deal with this, his acting was incredible. I really felt the emotional rollercoaster he was going through of trying to deal with this, also trying to defend his partner to others, because he wasn't fully on board with it, but he was, yeah, he was amazing. I think one thing I was really surprised about was the fact that even though it was extremely tense and I was stressed the whole time, I kind of thought it was a similar feeling to when I watch White Lotus of that kind of like, I'm tense the whole time. It was actually really funny. I found myself laughing a lot. Did you? Because I've heard that people have laughed, I was too stressed to laugh. I didn't know what was happening. Because there was that gentle foreshadowing earlier on in the film where you see people have been murdered at a wedding. I was like, oh, this is going to end badly, so I'm not ready for this. I'm, oh, wow, why am I watching this? This is stressful. It's spoiler alert again. None of that happens. It thinks a bad, but it's nothing like that. So I was like, it almost set me out for a fall. And I couldn't relax, but you obviously just went, oh, this is so stressful I'm laughing. Yes, I think it was maybe a stress laugh of relief. I loved the scene that they cut to, so that they are having this argument with their relationship. They're kind of like, do we get married, but they've got a meeting with the photographer for the wedding. And they quickly cut to now they're sitting down at their meeting with the photographer. And the photographer is like, so we're going to shoot you and then we're going to shoot you. We're going to shoot your parents. And maybe we'll hold off on shooting the grandparents and just that she says shoot maybe 18 times within 30 seconds. And the jarring of watching them listen to that while they've just discussed a mass shooting. I just thought so funny. Yes, you're right. It's a juxtaposition of how your brain often works one way, while in reality something else is happening. Oh, yeah, you're right. You're right. That was actually really, really clever. But I'm still not entirely sure what I'm supposed to take away from it all. Like mass shootings are fucked. Yes, we know that America's fucked. Yes, we know that. But is it the moral ambiguity of what human beings can be capable of and a good person can be a bad person? I don't know. I was just a bit confused. And I think not entirely believing that Zendai's character could contemplate such a thing because she seemed genuinely so empathetic. I don't know. I left with more confusion, but I still really enjoyed watching it. This is the thing. It's a roller-king ride. As you said, it happens quickly. It's really well put together. The soundtrack is incredible. That flute repeat as a thing that took really jarring. And it took me back to like 70s movies, you know, where they were just really sparse soundtracks and difficult soundtracks. And I liked that. And there's a lot to love about this film. And I think it's definitely a film that is worth saying and worth discussing. But I'm not sure entirely what the point of it was. I want about you. Because I knew what the secret was and I knew it was going to be about her contemplating a mass shooting. I think I did think it was going to have some sort of more messaging about shootings in America, a bit more of a clear message about that. But I don't think there was a clear message on that. And it wasn't like there wasn't a lot of political commentary on that. I think it more just asks why do we jump to punishment rather than rehabilitation and good point. In situations like this, everyone is so quick to say, well, we should call the police. How could you get away with this? And I think that's just really not the right approach. Robert Patterson saying that he's a cyber bully. I think they, those kind of actions are what leads towards children feeling isolated in school and maybe leading to a character like Zendaya to the actions that she was considering. Things like why did she have access to the weapon? None of these these lead up actions are interrogated only the final action. Yeah. And only her actions. That's yeah, which I found terribly unfair. But she's been let down by an entire system that leads up to that totally. And then the other thing I think is just a really fun question to be asking yourself and your relationships. Like immediately I went with my partner and a couple of friends and immediately we all asked each other. Oh my god. Oh my god. What would you do if I said this? Yeah. And where do you draw the line of forgive me? Where is the line? Where is the line? What's too far? But you're right. All the actions of the others were just horrible mean things to do, which they actually did. And they do contribute to creating a bubble for for disenfranchised kids to feel like they are completely isolated and the line. How do you think you would respond if someone you were about to marry said this year? Oh gosh. You'd hope if you were marrying them that you would have had a better knowledge of their childhood. Yes. Then get to a week out of the wedding and to have not known that about someone that they were bullied and isolated and had dark thoughts. I don't know. I don't know. It would certainly make me incredibly uncomfortable, but I also know that people are capable of change and people are capable, especially if they're young, of, you know, their brains aren't fully formed. It's a really precarious time for a lot of kids. And I think you have to keep an open mind surely, but it would certainly make you feel a bit wobbly. What about you? It's a horrible question to answer. I feel awful on the inside. I know. I think it is hard for me to imagine not knowing. And maybe even if you didn't know that they had that exact ideation to not have any idea that they had negative thoughts during childhood. And I think that would be really weird to not know any of that. I think my overall feeling would just be heartbroken that they ever felt like that. But yeah, I mean, it's, it's so tough because we all have a ground and I can already think of things where I'm like, but if it was that, I don't know if I could and everyone has their line. And look, you just cancel the wedding. If you're unsure at that point, if it made you feel that sick, they went through with it. I was like, come on guys, you're not having a good time. Stop this, stop this. It was kind of a film about the performative nature of marriage too, wasn't it? Like these kids were going into something where they didn't really know each other, but they felt like they have to because that's what you have to do and all of those things. So I think that it was a bit of a comment on that as well. So look, it's far more layered than I actually thought. And it's far more difficult in terms of understanding than I've thought going in. And I think I'll think about it for quite some time afterwards. Would you, is it a movie that you'd go, you think needs to be saying in the cinema, is it one of the one that you can write for streaming? I think you could wait for this to be streamed. It's beautiful to look at. The sound is beautiful, but I do think it's one that can be watched at home. I think it's so gripping, but I also, I love to chat and I have comments and I could feel myself whispering to my friends like, oh my god, so I think it could be an at-home one. I love, I recommend seeing anything at the cinema if you can. I love seeing them on the big screen, but if you can't make it, I think it can be a stream. I think so too. I think so too, because yeah, they actually look really ordinary, send air and Robert Pattinson, two of the most attractive people on earth actually look really doubty in this film for most of the time. So you're not coming for the outfits, although the city, the fictional city that they're in is gorgeous and their apartment is gorgeous, but everything else is like, yeah, I, with all time of thinking where are they? I think it was a universe. It's a combination of two, I think it's not real. Roch, thank you for getting me to go out to the cinema because we're doing this on a month by month basis now. What's our next film? Next month we're going to do the Devil West Prada too. Yay! I saw the promo for it and I was like, oh, I can't wait for this. I'm so excited. What would you rate this one? I would rate this an eight out of ten. Oh, very good. I love that. I love that. Yeah, yeah. I think it's really interesting. I probably wouldn't give it as high just because it made me feel incredibly anxious. So I'm going to give it a seven. Nice. Seven from me. All right. Well, again, we kind of agree. So next one we'll have to vehemently disagree, but perhaps I know. Roch, yeah, I love hanging out with you and thank you for taking the time to go and see this for us with us and we'll see you at the next film review. Yay! Yay! Thanks, ma'am. Let us know what you think. If you've seen the film and you can send me messages via my DMs, there's an email in the show notes and there's lots of ways you can contact all of us, but we'd love to know your thoughts on this film, the drama because it is a fricking drama. There's a lot going on. Help us make sense of it too. All right, that's it for today. Have a great day. Whenever you're listening to this and we'll see you next time. This is an M.I.K. made production recorded on Warrundry land. Always was and always will be Aboriginal land.