I've heard about this film since Sundance 2020 and have been interested ever since. One year later, I finally got the chance to see Zola and
Zola is about a part-time stripper named Zola who takes a trip to Florida with a new friend she makes and gets into something she doesn't expect.
What really fascinated me was the visual style director Janicza Bravo decided to take with this story. The film has a level of graininess in its visuals and when the opening title showed up, it reminded me of exploitation movies from a past era. This choice was something I really liked and it felt fitting for the kind of story it was presenting. The score and music choices were also aspects I liked. Mica Levi has composed some of my favourite scores, such the one in Under the Skin, and the score in Zola creates an atmosphere that's beautiful yet haunting. The film is hilarious at times but it has great ways of building tension and unsettling moments like a stylish montage that left me feeling quite uncomfortable. The performances were a strong factor too. Taylour Paige is excellent as Zola and expresses the discomfort the character feels during some situations very well. Riley Keough is amazing as she fully disappears into the role of Stefani. Nicholas Braun is very funny to watch and every scene with Colman Domingo is tense yet entertaining with the performance he delivers.
Where I'm feeling conflicted is the development of the characters and the ending. The film ends at a point I didn't expect it to and I didn't find it to be satisfying personally. The film jumps into its story very quickly and does develop characters to some degree but I was left wanting to learn more about these people especially the titular character. The voiceover was also something that didn't work for me. After the film, I went and read the full Twitter thread and there were parts I wish were included which I felt would have helped developed characters further and made me feel more pitiful towards them.
Zola was an interesting experience that had great performances and Janicza Bravo's way of telling the story made it more creative and fun to witness. However, I was left wanting more from the characters and ending.
Zola is about a part-time stripper named Zola who takes a trip to Florida with a new friend she makes and gets into something she doesn't expect.
What really fascinated me was the visual style director Janicza Bravo decided to take with this story. The film has a level of graininess in its visuals and when the opening title showed up, it reminded me of exploitation movies from a past era. This choice was something I really liked and it felt fitting for the kind of story it was presenting. The score and music choices were also aspects I liked. Mica Levi has composed some of my favourite scores, such the one in Under the Skin, and the score in Zola creates an atmosphere that's beautiful yet haunting. The film is hilarious at times but it has great ways of building tension and unsettling moments like a stylish montage that left me feeling quite uncomfortable. The performances were a strong factor too. Taylour Paige is excellent as Zola and expresses the discomfort the character feels during some situations very well. Riley Keough is amazing as she fully disappears into the role of Stefani. Nicholas Braun is very funny to watch and every scene with Colman Domingo is tense yet entertaining with the performance he delivers.
Where I'm feeling conflicted is the development of the characters and the ending. The film ends at a point I didn't expect it to and I didn't find it to be satisfying personally. The film jumps into its story very quickly and does develop characters to some degree but I was left wanting to learn more about these people especially the titular character. The voiceover was also something that didn't work for me. After the film, I went and read the full Twitter thread and there were parts I wish were included which I felt would have helped developed characters further and made me feel more pitiful towards them.
Zola was an interesting experience that had great performances and Janicza Bravo's way of telling the story made it more creative and fun to witness. However, I was left wanting more from the characters and ending.