"Y'all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out???????? it's kind of long but full of suspense." The now immortal words of Twitter user Aziah “Zola” Wells were posted in telling the tale of her journey with a pimp, an exotic dancer, and her boyfriend. A24, the independent power house, picked up the idea of the narrative to turn it into a big screen adaptation. In a Hollywood where original ideas have seemly run out with an inundation of sequels, prequels, and cinematic universes, we finally get a film based on...a Twitter thread.
Reading about this film, I was highly excited about the adaptation. Riley Keough, aka Elvis Presley's granddaughter, has quickly turned into an independent tour de force as witnessed in American Honey, Logan Lucky, and others. Director Janicza Bravo appeared ready to deliver a fresh take on an American story though she is grounded in little directorial experience. Does Zola make the grade? Sometimes yes, sometimes no...
Zola is a raw, unadulterated film that feels sometimes it is trying to be edgier than it actually is. It is painfully cyclical through a variety of unmatching aesthetics which make it feel overwhelmingly disjointed. If you are attempting to make a film to tell a real American tale of unfiltered actions, don't attempt to fall back into abstract dreamlike sequences to make your film look pretty. Zola is masterfully shot by cinematographer Ari Wegner, but I wish some of these shots were sacrificed for a better, more streamlined story. There's even a moment where Bravo attempts to sprinkle in a Rashomon-like story element based on the differentiating opinions of Zola and Keough's Stefani, yet it is too brief to hold any consequential impact. For a 90-minute film, I found myself truly exhausted at the end by some of the jarring choices by the inexperienced Bravo. It felt like I watched about 3 movies synonymously.
This doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy Zola, but I first needed to explain my pejorative criticisms. The performances in this film are wonderful. Taylour Paige is a nice straight woman to Riley Keough's bombastic performance as Stefani. Nicholas Braun, aka cousin Greg from Succession (The best drama on television) is a great comedic foil to Colman Domingo's sinister yet charming pimp. I was entertained and had moments where I found myself laughing out loud. It is also wonderful yet disturbing that music from my youth is now finding its way into movie soundtracks regularly. It makes me feel as ancient as a 26-year-old critic can be.
Zola is not a great movie, but a damn good one. In better hands, this film could've been something masterful. I found myself disappointed by my high expectations, but also satisfied with my new ones.
Grade (6.5/10)
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