Listen, “Zola” is necessary “hoe” content that the streets needed.
It just is.
I was excited to hear A’Ziah King’s infamous Twitter thread would be adapted into a screenplay, and with A24, because I remember the day the story broke and how I much I appreciated her honesty, hyperbolic storytelling, and openness about her body, her work, and her life.
The film felt like a piece of art that paints a grim, but realistic picture of sex work. It hits all the notes of how misplaced trust and hopes of better opportunities could easily get people caught up in unfortunate, and often tragic, circumstances. Both Zola (Taylour Paige) and Stefani (Riley Keough) are clear about their agency and ,what they will and will not do for money, with one woman using the other’s determination to her advantage and creating unsafe environments for both to endure.
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It’s Shakespearean.
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The good shit:
🤑 Directing:
I was about to write it off.
But then I sat back and thought, “nah, it was kinda ill how the director (Janicza Bravo) captured this part.” Or had a deeper appreciation for why some scenes felt jagged and undone, which was probably intentional as the narrative often foreshadowed some wild shit that happened later.
Palette-cleansing from the jump: during the rising action, Stefani picks Zola up from her apartment with two male friends in tow. During a stop at a service station, Zola and Stefani use the restroom together. The directing in this scene is brilliant. The sequence follows what seems like an insignificant, pedestrian moment for folks traveling together on a road trip. But it effectively foretells the relationship between the two women and emphasizes clear behavioral differences. The cinematographer toggles between both stalls with each woman handling their business: Zola is squatting over the commode, very careful not to touch anything; conversely, Stefani is sitting down, bare-assed, with a relaxed, lackadaisical mood. There is a slowing-moving back-and-forth between each toilet for thirty seconds underscoring the seriousness of one character’s demeanor, and the lack thereof of the other—the tone is immediately palpable.
Throughout the film, the director highlighted different forms of media to foreshadow events or appropriately align with its current scene. For example, on the television in one of the glitzy hotel rooms, there was a woman stuck in the mud with her car, which aligned with Zola feeling stuck in an unnerving, “messy” situation with Stefani, and wanting to desperately get out of it.
The film felt like it took place on the social media more than it did in the lives of the two women featured. Like traveling through time and using the iPhone clock’s as a point of reference and a narrative device to home in on the story’s social media-driven origin. The repetitive “dings” and chimes of iPhone yesteryear, and use of outdated emoji were effective and added to the narrative’s depth.
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🤑 This is a Colman Jason Domingo Stan account. Colman Domingo is everything, bruh. He really gives 200% to every role he plays. (And he fine.) I loved the styling for his character “X,” Stefani’s pimp. The two different colored contact lenses were necessary flair for X’s profile. I’d honestly love to see an adaptation of his character’s carrying-on–Domingo was both terrifying and a joy to watch. 🥰 🥰
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🤑 Editing: I’m a sucker for jump cuts, so I was really loving abrupt slices from scene to scene. Shouts to editing legend, Joi McMillion.
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🤑 Riley was fantastic as Stefani. Great acting. Stefani was properly annoying, and Riley Keough was convincing as all-fuck. At a couple points, I thought she understood the assignment too well because I forget this wasn’t a documentary. The evolution of her character’s antics was one of the best parts of the film. The repetitive “Bitch!!!” and “YAS, SIS!” were part of the lexicon during the era Zola’s Twitter thread broke loose, so I appreciated the application of overused, irritating banter.
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🤑 The relationship with both women and their partners: we’re introduced to Zola’s partner when she’s home practicing pole-dancing. Following a brief phone call with Stefani, Zola mentions to him that she’s traveling to Tampa for the weekend to dance. Her boyfriend is concerned, and what follows is a montage of his concerns with Zola annoyed and properly ignoring him. *insert iPhone chime* When we’re introduced to Stefani’s partner, the audience isn’t entirely sure who it is—X or Derek (Nicholas Braun)? *insert iPhone chime* Throughout the film, we see two different depictions of the women’s partners expressing regret or fear over their weekend excursions.
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🤑 Zola’s narration: my favorite part of the film was Zola essentially narrating exactly what my black ass would be thinking. Zola’s role seemed to be more of a supporting, chief eye-roller per situation. There were moments when I thought, “…wait, this movie is not about Zola. It’s about her reactions to the absolute gall of these shady characters.”
(That’s exactly what the film is about.)
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The 😖 😫 shit:
😔 Screenplay—which is ironic given the incredible source material in Zola’s iconic Twitter tale. This was a much better story on a Twitter feed than as a screenplay. It felt flat and the structure seemed too familiar, like I’ve definitely seen this film before but with other characters. Though I loved the editing, the negative byproduct of the element was so much of the film’s hyperbole was left to your own imagination.
Pulling in Stefani’s perspective of the narrative’s events, for all of two minutes, was an interesting turn—it didn’t add to the tone and brought down the emotion of what I thought would be a pivotal scene into a disjointed mess.
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😔 Lack of action? The Twitter tale was so riveting that I was expecting an action-packed, adrenaline-rushing (potential) cult classic, but unfortunately, the mise–en–scene fell short of expectations. There were moments where I couldn’t track if we were in the rising or falling action. Like, bruh–this was frustrating because I was looking forward to a “hoe is life” thrill ride. There was just too much meandering and an overuse of establishing shots.
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😓 The conclusion: Bruh, this film concluded at an awkward point. I felt cheated!
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Shout out to Taylour Paige’s agent. Miss Mama has been collecting IMDb acting credits like crazy over the past few years. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Love that for her.
