Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Janicza Bravo
Starring: Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Colman
Domingo, Nicholas Braun, Jason Mitchell
Director Janicza Bravo's Zola isn't the first movie to
be adapted from a Twitter thread (I believe that honour goes to the 2013
Thai coming-of-age drama
Mary, Is Happy, Mary Is Happy). That said, it's certainly the most high profile movie to mine social
media for its narrative.
In 2015, a waitress named Aziah "Zola" King posted a 148 tweet thread
detailing a manic weekend in Florida that took in stripping, prostitution,
possibly murder and a suicide attempt. Filmmakers immediately began jostling
for the rights to Zola's story, and so it arrives as an anarchic, blackly
comic thriller with shades of Harmony Korine and Russ Meyer.
Stepping into Zola's high heels is Taylour Paige, whom we meet
during a shift at her restaurant. It's there she meets stripper Stefani (Riley Keough), who immediately gets in her good books by complimenting her breasts.
Following Zola's shift, the pair hook up for a night of debauchery and
become fast friends. When Stefani invites Zola on a "ho trip" to Florida to
make money at a strip club, the latter accepts, much to her boyfriend's
chagrin. What Zola isn't prepared for is the company of Stefani's manchild
boyfriend Derrek (Nicholas Braun) and her "roommate", an unidentified
Nigerian (Colman Domingo) who is clearly her pimp.
The chaotic narrative that follows may be adapted from a Twitter thread,
but despite its very modern origins it plays out like a love letter to '70s
grindhouse cinema. Zola and Stefani go on the sort of adventure that
wouldn't be out of place in a Roger Corman produced, Jonathan Kaplan/Demme
directed b-movie, and you could easily imagine Pam Grier and Rainbeaux Smith
in the lead roles. Ari Wegner's grainy 16mm cinematography adds
greatly to this feeling.
As with the original thread, Zola has all the ingredients for
a juicy thriller, but the film also bears the burden of mining a story from
social media. Though the narrative has been spiced up in parts, it still
never quite flows smoothly, ultimately petering out rather than climaxing.
As a story it's a bit limp, and falls somewhere between being larger than
life yet not quite dramatic enough for the screen.
If its narrative doesn't quite pass muster, it's as a character drama that
Zola succeeds. Bravo's direction of her main characters
reveals their true selves without ever resorting to backstory revelations.
Everyone here seems to be escaping their lives, and are unwilling to divulge
any personal details. Zola is the sort of taciturn lead we just don't see
much in American cinema, and Bravo uses Paige's expressive and judgemental
eyes as a barometer to set the temperature of every situation she finds
herself in. Conversely Keough's Stefani never shuts up. She's constantly
talking nonsense in a cringey appropriation of ghetto speak, but we're kept
guessing as to her true intentions throughout. Her Nigerian pimp hides his
real accent until a scenario requires him to come off as intimidating,
likely aware of Americans' suspicions of foreigners.
It's commendable that Bravo has taken what is essentially a rambling thread
of verbal exposition and transformed it into such a cinematic piece of
storytelling. The Florida tourist board likely won't be tapping her up for
any promos, as she renders the Sunshine State as an approximation of Hell,
with her heroines descending its various levels as their insane weekend
progresses. There are unsettling touches like a scene soundtracked by a kid
bouncing a basketball like some foreboding metronome, and off-kilter camera
angles that create a sense of unease. I'd love to see what she might do with
a horror movie.
Zola is on UK/ROI VOD now.
