Zola Review
R: strong sexual content and language throughout, graphic nudity, and violence including a sexual assault. Runtime: 1 Hr and 30 MinutesProduction Companies: Killer Films, Gigi Films, Ramona FilmsDistributor: A24Director: Janicza BravoWriters: Janicza Bravo, Jeremy O. HarrisCast: Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun, Colman DomingoRelease Date: 2020
Inspired by the 144-tweet thread from 2015 (during the days when the character count was 140), the film follows a waitress named Zola who immediately bonds with a customer named Stefani over their shared experience in stripping and working the pole. Stefani makes a proposition to Zola, asking her to travel with her to Florida to make $5,000 at a stripper joint. She accepts, and from that point forward, a bizarre adventure involving murder, pimps, sex trafficking, and attempted suicide, begins. Truly a story that can only come out of good ol’ Florida.
Brought to you by the good people at A24, the story of Zola in of itself is a whirlwind just to even digest. In terms of adapting this Twitter thread, along with a budding Rolling Stone article, into a feature film is a major feat, as you have to capture the wild and insane elements in order to give this popular story it’s due diligence. Director/writer Janicza Bravo achieves that all the way through, as she adapts this larger than life story in a cinematic manner that makes you feel as if you’re literally watching a Twitter thread come to life. Bravo does the story justice through the script she co-wrote along with Slave Play’s Jeremy O. Harris. They deliver the stomach-churning, anxiety-inducing madness of the scenario the titular character is thrown into, staying remotely true to the events of the source. The two capture the perfect tone that balances between dark humor, aligned with the genuine edge of your seat thrills. It's honestly on-brand for the production company, because as far A24 features go, Zola is on an Uncut Gems level of stressful, gripping to the very end, and never lets you up for air even with the plentiful laughs it offers.Aside from the script, Bravo’s imaginative vision is one of the primary driving forces that makes this narrative special. She incorporates several creative and different elements to add power to Zola’s story and immerse you in the madness. She adds so much attention to detail in such a stylish way in order to make the audience feel as if they’re witnessing a Twitter thread coming to life. With each major plot point or narrative beat it hits, a Twitter notification chime would ring, or when Zola is zoning out to the craziness surrounding her situation, the volume would lower to mute. But most of all, Bravo captures the hellscape that is Florida, which you want Zola to escape from.While making it such an endlessly stylish experience set in contemporary time (well, when Vine was alive), Bravo presents it in an ‘80s noir manner, varying from the title cards to poppy hypnotic fantasy sequences to the fact that it was shot on film. I’m mostly sure it was shot on film, which perfectly fits the aesthetic. Also, what truly brings this narrative to life is the charismatic ensemble who all bring such a huge bravado of energy. As the titular character, Taylour Paige is great. This is my first time seeing her in a feature and she bursts with such onscreen presence and class. Paige is positioned as the audience’s avatar, as she guides their way through the entirety of the stressful journey that you just wanna hold her hand all the way through. She delivers such a relatable state of completely “doneness” that alludes to so many hilarious moments. I’m unfamiliar with most of her work, but I feel this is a decent breakthrough performance for her and I’d love to see more of her in future features. A major supporting standout is Colman Domingo who portrays a Nigerian pimp named X. He’s completely intimidating but has so much fun chewing up the scenery with such chaotic energy that you can’t keep your eyes off of him. Then the MVP, the performer who steals the show in every moment she’s onscreen is Riley Keough. Is it too early to begin my Riley Keough best supporting actress campaign because she just shines brightly. Riley Keough dons a full-on blaccent that’s an imitation of rapper Bhad Bhabie and fully commits to it throughout. Keough is such a major agent of chaos throughout this whole movie that you’re both annoyed by the amount of shit she pulls to scam Zola and enticed by what problematic actions she’ll do next. There came moments that I was so swept away by her performance that I completely forgot that this was Keough portraying Stefani. Seriously, seeing Zola and The Lodge within the same week just proves that Keough is a friggin powerhouse of a performer with impeccable range. This is her second comedic role since Logan Lucky, but this is the perfect vehicle where she stands out as the most toxic and absurd of a character, with comedic timing that’s exceptionally on point and keeps you as entertained as you are annoyed. She has so many tricks up her sleeve and I endlessly become just more astounded by her.
Zola projects such an abundant amount of energy and yet the finale goes out on such a cop-out whimper. Actually, I wouldn’t even say a whimper, I would say more of a WOMP WOMP. There’s no grand cathartic resolution that by the end, you audibly question “Oh, that’s it?” Given how insane the real ending to this story was, the movie just takes the easy way out when it could’ve added at least an extra 15-20 minutes to give the narrative the proper conclusion it deserves. The movie doesn’t even tell you what happens to all of the participants in the story. It’s such a cop-out of a conclusion that you just want to blare Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life.” That said, as someone who never read the Twitter thread nor the Rolling Stone article, it was fun to witness it come to life and it encourages you to read the entire story in its entirety.
Okay, A24, you need to release a Florida Film Collection Blu-ray Package because this is your, what, fifth movie about how fucking crazy Florida is? I can make an A24 bingo card and Florida is the free space. At this point, these A24 features are becoming more propagandistic in the sense of me never wanting to visit Florida because it’s too damn wild for me and my taste. That said, I do love Zola and the wild, chaotic, and imaginative nature it exhibits. Rating: 4/5 | 82%
