The father of a Columbine shooting victim has criticised the upcoming film The Drama, a dark romantic comedy starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya. The film's plot involves a couple whose engagement is thrown into doubt after the woman reveals she once planned a school shooting but backed out.
Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was killed in the 1999 Colorado high school massacre, told TMZ that using such subject matter for a romantic comedy is “awful”. He expressed concern over Zendaya’s comments on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, where she described the film as blending genres and sparking conversations.
Mauser argued that casting a beloved star like Zendaya “humanises” perpetrators of school violence and “normalises” the shootings, even though the character does not carry out the attack. The studio A24 has not widely screened the film, possibly to avoid spoilers, but early critic reactions have been broadly positive.
Reviews are embargoed until 31 March. The Guardian has approached the film’s UK distributors for comment. Previous films addressing Columbine, such as Gus Van Sant’s Elephant and Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine, have won major awards.
