“Zola” Review
In “Zola,” Steffani (Left) invites Zola on a trip to Florida, resulting in a crazy weekend and a magnetic story.
Upon viewing “Zola,” I was unsure about whether or not I liked the film. It’s just one of those films that requires a bit of meditation to form an opinion. This film is precisely the reason why I don’t grade films or offer any basic rankings in my reviews. “Zola” is a film that is as inviting as it is repellent.
Based on the unbelievable true story, the film stars Taylour Paige as Aziah “Zola” King, a waitress and stripper who meets an enigmatic woman named Stefani (Riley Keough) and winds up on a weekend road trip to Florida with Stefani, Stefani’s boyfriend Derrek (Nicholas Braun) and Steffani’s roommate X (Colman Domingo). What follows is 48 hours of insanity and an uncomfortable trip filled with murder, attempted suicide and hustling that puts the work of Hunter S. Thompson to shame.
Overall, the film is well crafted and creates a dreamlike state thanks to the careful craft by director Janicza Bravo. With a brilliant color palette and a more grainy aesthetic, “Zola” feels like a 1970s arthouse film that has made its way to a modern audience.
As the weekend continues, crazy events transpire which cause Zola to become more disenchanted with her newfound friends. As the environment transitions from fascination to weariness, I felt trapped in the theater just as Zola felt trapped with these crazy people. The way that Bravo handles the camera, by keeping it very close to the characters, made me feel as though I was in the car on the road trip and I wanted to get the hell out.
In creating an uncomfortable atmosphere, the film succeeds with a great level of artistry but it just did its job too well for my taste. I respect what Bravo did in bringing this crazy story (based off of 148 Tweets from 2015 by Zola) to life but I also acknowledge that this film will not be for everyone who flocks to the theater for mainstream movies. In my case, I enjoyed the film enough for the insane ride that it was.
So, is “Zola” a good film? I suppose. It’s a strange film that is worth seeing for fans of arthouse cinema, but it certainly has a small audience. A type of cinematic hypnosis that occurs rarely in mainstream cinema and one that I won’t soon forget. But I also won’t revisit it anytime too soon.
