‘Zola’ Review
When you think about a studio adapting a 148-tweet Twitter thread into a movie, your mind may go to some dark places. The film industry has a notoriously terrible track record when it comes to portraying internet culture. Most of the time, we end up with lazy attempts at recreating what it's physically like to be on the internet, like Unfriended or Hashtag Horror, which turn out as stale eyesores.
A lesser filmmaker or studio could have easily adapted Aziah "Zola" King's viral tweetstorm into an obnoxious monstrosity with texts and emojis choking each frame. But director Janicza Bravo embraces the social media angle of the source material and makes a visually pleasing and entertaining film. She turns King's story into a glitzy fairy tale that puts a filter of dreamy music and bright colors over a grimy and dangerous world.
When waitress and exotic dancer Aziah "Zola" King (Taylor Paige) befriends a fellow stripper, Stefani (Riley Keough), the latter invites the former on a road trip to Tampa, where they can make a lot of money dancing at a particular club. Along for the ride are Stefani's hapless boyfriend Derrek (Nicholas Braun) and her "roommate," the mysterious X (Colman Domingo). But after a disappointing night of drawing in very little cash, the ugly truth hits us like a ton of bricks as Stefani offers up her body to clients for extra money. Piecing together that X is actually Stefani's pimp, Zola finds herself trapped on a wild ride filled with bright lights, seedy hotels, and more naked men than she bargained for.
This story is inseparable from King's blunt, sarcastic commentary, and the film captures her spirit with Paige's comedic, intermittent narration. We don't learn too much about the character Zola in this film, but we become intimately familiar with her personality and point of view. Her snappy remarks feel like new tweets in her Twitter thread, making the audience feel like her followers, hanging onto her every word.
With the spirit of King's storytelling intact, Janicza Bravo brings the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll side of this story to life with zest. But she finds a refreshing new angle to this trashy Florida tale by adding touches of class and enchantment, especially in the portrayal of stripping. She mixes Ari Wegner's pastel-saturated cinematography with Mica Levi's classical Hollywood score to give exotic dancing a sense of grandeur. When you see Zola spinning on the pole in slow motion, it feels like a skill, a sacred ritual that requires talent and years of training.
Bravo also gives sex work a unique spin when she puts Stefani's profession on display in one of the film's standout scenes. Once Zola gives Stefani some pointers on attracting more clients and making more money, the men start lining up around the block. Bravo cuts all of these transactions together into a vibrant montage that demonstrates the two girls running a successful business and that Stefani is a pro who knows how to handle any client.
The film's positive outlook on sex work is a breath of fresh air, and it only feels uncomfortable and dangerous when X shows up in the picture. In his scenes, Bravo tones down the fairytale style and lets the sinister side of this business shine through. X is a scary guy, and Colman Domingo's charismatic performance makes him all the more unpredictable. He can turn on the charm with his melodic voice and Cheshire Cat grin, but there's always anger bubbling under the surface. His presence is a constant splash of cold water after a fun night.
While each character has a distinct personality that pops off the screen, I feel like the film could have told us more about Zola and Stefani. Paige and Keough have great chemistry, and you can see why these two girls click so well, but the film doesn't develop them much beyond their charismatic personalities. I was never 100% sure what Zola wanted. She initially wants to make money and have fun, and once her situation turns ugly, she tries her best to come out of it unscathed, but is that it?
Her lack of purpose, along with the abrupt severance of each character's arc, is a direct result of the film's non-ending. If you read King's Twitter thread, you'll know there's a bit more to the story past where the movie left off. I won't spoil what happens, but this alternate ending could have put a nice button on everything that came before it. Each character would have a satisfying conclusion to their arc, and there'd be more time for some reflection on Zola's part about what this whole journey meant to her. Instead, the film cuts itself off right as it's ramping back up, and it doesn't say a whole lot with its final moments.
The only character who feels fully realized is Derrek. He gets his own subplot where he's roped into a scam by con man Dion (Jason Mitchell), and we see the full extent of his loneliness and stupidity. Plus, the film elaborates on his messy relationship with Stefani and why he continues to stick around despite being constantly cuckolded. Oddly enough, he feels like the film's naive, bumbling conscience, and I want the best for him despite being content to laugh at his misfortune.
Despite my issues with the characters, Zola ultimately succeeds by embracing the exaggerated nature of storytelling. King admitted to embellishing certain details in her Twitter thread, and the real-life Stefani posted her account of the story on Reddit. The film embraces the subjectivity of its narrator when it pulls a Rashomon and briefly switches to Stefani's perspective. It's a fun bit of comedy as she gives us her side of the story, and we see previous scenes from an entirely different point of view.
Little touches like this prove that Zola prioritizes the power of good storytelling over accuracy. Even if you took the social media angle out, the film would still work as an entertaining dark comedy in the right hands. But the filmmakers see the context around the story's inception as an integral part of the story itself, which gives them room to stretch their creativity. As a result, we get a film with a distinct voice that proves a good script can come from anywhere, even the darkest corners of the internet.
★★★½