Now, I usually don’t give out spoilers, but this one needs some partial spoiling for the discussion. I’d also like to issue a trigger warning for discussions of school shootings.
At its core, the movie is about second chances - starting over, especially after mistakes. From the very beginning, when Charlie (Robert Pattinson) approaches Emma (Zendaya) as she reads a book and doesn’t respond, only to later explain she’s deaf in one ear and listening to music in the other, the film sets its tone. She gives him a second chance, and from there, the story moves quickly into the days before their wedding.
Amidst the stress and excitement, Emma and Charlie sit down with their friends Rachel (the maid of honour) and Mike (the best man). What starts as drunken conversation turns into a game about the worst things they’ve ever done. Mike admits to using his ex-girlfriend as a human shield during a dog attack. Rachel confesses to locking her childhood neighbour in a closet overnight and doesn't know what happened after. Charlie reveals he cyberbullied a classmate so bad, that the family moved away, though this is quickly excused with his age, being a young teen at the time. Then Emma speaks. She reveals that at fifteen, suffering with depression and isolation, she had planned a school shooting. Unsurprisingly, (and rightfully so), this derails everything.
Now, I have to say, I loved the acting. It felt real and human, never exaggerated for the sake of a twist. Zendaya delivers a brilliantly layered performance as someone grappling with her past, while Pattinson captures Charlie’s emotional unraveling just as well. Even Rachel’s Mean Girls-esque speech, paired with the added darkness of not knowing what actually happened to her victim, adds a particularly bleak layer to the story.
...reads at times borderline offensive.
That said, some story choices didn’t sit right with me. The film leans more into Charlie’s journey than Emma’s, which feels unbalanced. The extensions of Emma's flashback to her teenage self sulking about her house in dark makeup with her dad’s rifle, records of sociopathic videos, the numerous rap posters in young Emma’s room, reads at times borderline offensive.
Even then, I found it compelling. The film forces you into a moral dilemma. Are you willing to accept your partner fully, even with their darkest thoughts (not actions)? Do our actions define who we are, or do our thoughts? That's the crux of the movie. You either believe actions define a person more than their thoughts ever could and everyone has the innate ability to change and grow - or you don’t. And that idea is reflected in the final scene, with a battered Emma and Charlie meeting again, ending on the question: can we start over?
All in all, I’d say give it a try. Whether you leave outraged or deep in thought is entirely up to you. This movie at least leaves you with a lot to think about. And as said by Cesar A. Cruz: Art should comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable.