Christopher Borgli’s new black comedy/rom-com starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya opens with a deceptively simple question: what is the worst thing you’ve ever done?
It’s asked during a drunken pre-wedding dinner between a couple about to get married — Charlie and Emma — and their closest friends. The answers start small. Petty. Awkward. Mildly embarrassing. But when Emma finally answers, the entire movie tilts on its axis: as a teenager, she once planned a mass shooting at her high school and never went through with it.
What follows is not a thriller, not a melodrama, and not quite a traditional rom-com. Instead, Christopher Borgli crafts an uncomfortable, darkly funny, and deeply layered relationship movie about love under extreme pressure. The film becomes a character study — particularly of Charlie — as he spirals in the days leading up to their wedding, trying to reconcile the woman he loves with the revelation he can’t stop replaying in his mind.
The movie asks a lot of uncomfortable questions. How well do you really know your partner? How forgiving can you be? How much of someone’s past defines who they are now? And perhaps most provocatively, in a country where gun violence is so common it almost fades into background noise, how many people have had dark thoughts they never acted on?
This is heavy subject matter, but the film walks a razor-thin tonal line between comedy and dread. You’re laughing one moment and squirming in your seat the next. It often feels like watching a slow-motion car crash — you can’t look away, and you’re not entirely sure how you’re supposed to feel.
Robert Pattinson delivers one of the best performances of his career. His downward spiral is fascinating, funny, and painfully human. He plays confusion, paranoia, love, and fear all at once — often without saying much at all. Zendaya is equally impressive, giving what might be her best film performance to date. She does a remarkable amount with silence and subtle expression, keeping Emma layered and complex rather than villainous.
Their chemistry is essential, and it’s what makes the movie work. Before the reveal, they genuinely feel like a great couple — warm, funny, believable. That foundation makes everything that follows hit harder.
The supporting cast is also excellent, especially the couple at the center of the dinner that starts it all: Rachel and Mike. Alana Haim is fantastic as Rachel, leaning into a sharply abrasive, judgmental personality that makes her instantly unlikeable but incredibly compelling to watch. She plants the seeds of tension early, and once the revelation drops, her reaction feels both personal and explosive. Mamoudou Athie, meanwhile, plays Mike with a quieter, almost trapped energy — the husband who clearly takes a lot from his partner and seems stuck in a dynamic he can’t escape. Their already-married relationship serves as an interesting contrast to Charlie and Emma’s impending wedding, and both actors bring a grounded, uncomfortable realism to the shifting group dynamic.
Technically, the movie is incredibly sharp. The editing is the quiet MVP — keeping the pacing tight and the tone balanced between humor and discomfort. The cinematography elevates what could have been a simple rom-com into something more deliberate and controlled, and the score subtly enhances the unease without overwhelming the performances.
Despite the heavy themes, the film ultimately lands somewhere surprisingly tender. At its core, this is a story about two people in love having the worst week of their lives. It becomes less about the revelation itself and more about whether love can survive it. The ending hits a perfect note — not simplistic, but emotionally satisfying — and leaves you smiling in a way you don’t quite expect.
This will absolutely be a divisive movie. The subject matter alone guarantees that. Some audiences won’t know when it’s okay to laugh, others may reject the premise entirely. But that discomfort is exactly the point. Borgli isn’t sugarcoating anything — he’s presenting an outsider’s perspective on American gun culture with a blunt, almost matter-of-fact honesty.
It’s funny, tense, awkward, and emotionally sharp. It’s the kind of movie that plays incredibly well with a crowd — the gasps, the nervous laughter, the shared discomfort all become part of the experience.
One of the best films of the year so far, powered by two knockout performances, razor-sharp editing, and a bold premise that actually follows through on its ideas. It’s an elevated rom-com, a dark comedy, and a relationship drama all rolled into one — and it sticks the landing.
The Drama = 91/100
