Zola
An electrifying burst of chaotic energy; impossible to look away from.
Zola (Taylour Paige) is convinced by Stefani (Riley Keough) to travel to Florida with her, her boyfriend Derrek (Nicholas Braun) and her friend X (Colman Domingo), because X can set them up with some work dancing in clubs down there, and Zola and Stefani could use the money. Once they get there, however, Zola finds herself in a sticky situation; X is Stefani’s pimp, and he wants Zola to also start earning him money. As things go from bad to worse, Zola needs to get through the weekend and find a way out of this situation, all while Stefani drifts further and further from the woman she new, X becomes more and more dangerous, and Derrek becomes increasingly disillusioned with his life and relationship.
Zola is based off a series of tweets that went viral, depicting a real life story by the titular character herself. This story was also refuted by the character Stefani in real life. For a film based off such electric and chaotic subject matter, the film understandably hews towards two things; firstly, it verges on unbelievable as only reality can, and secondly, it plays out rapidly and energetically.
Directed by Janickza Bravo, the film is unique in its depiction of events, frequently breaking the fourth wall through narration, and even occasionally giving Stefani’s side of the story a brief interlude.
The piece is well acted throughout, with Taylour Paige in particular a standout - fierce, strong but also realistic, her performance shows how someone could carry themselves through this sort of dangerous situation with respect and get out the other side. Keough is manic as Stefani, chewing heartily into a role that is larger than life, and Domingo also shines as the at once charming and threatening X. Braun plays a sort of hapless loser, a cringey culturally inappropriate version of his work on Succession in some ways, and is probably the weakest of the four main players.
Visually, cinematographer Ari Wegner brings a distinct tone to the piece that is at once intriguingly fun, and chaotic. There’s lots of dutch angles, interesting camera positions, and slow pans across naked men’s genitals. The whole thing is suffused in a soft haze, almost like we can’t tell if this is accurate memory or fictional fable. The whole film is also accented by little things that speak to the story’s origins - time checks clock up with the Apple iPhone font you see on your phone everyday, and many beats are accented by the sound of a tweet.
Overall, it’s a shocking, fun, engaging piece, and at only 86 minutes, never overstays its welcome.
