“Y’all wanna hear a story about why me and this bitch here fell out????? It’s kind of long but full of suspense.“
Aziah King (nicknamed Zola) typed those words at 9:32PM on October 27, 2015, and started a viral string of 144 tweets (obviously, spoilers if you click through) that became the stuff of internet legend. We’ve seen a lot of books and plays and short stories adapted for the big screen, but Zola might be the first film to be based on a Twitter thread.
King is clearly a gifted storyteller, and she is an executive producer on the film, but director Janicza Bravo deserves a lot of credit for turning this thrilling tale into such a dynamic independent movie. Zola had sparked a lot of buzz at the Sundance 2020 Film Festival but, like many other movies, had its theatrical release delayed until now because of the pandemic. Audiences can now finally see this wildly entertaining summer road trip movie, but it is also so much more.
The story, as narrated mostly by the titular Zola (Taylour Paige), tells of how she meets Stefani (Riley Keough) at a restaurant and they become fast friends. Finding out that they both “dance”, they hang out a little bit later that night, and the very next day Stefani invites Zola on a road trip down to Tampa with her boyfriend and her “roommate” to make some “schmoney” and then, step by step, things spiral out of control.
In the last few years there have been a lot of “internet age” movies and that is certainly part of the makeup of Zola. On the road trip, they are singing and rapping along to music and taking selfies and videos of themselves and telling stories and it feels like you are in the car with them or watching the videos of them on social media. But Bravo is judicious and smart enough to use the advantages of the film format when it works, capturing the neon Florida nightlife vibes like a much more lurid, less glamorous Hustlers or a pumped up, grittier version of Spring Breakers.
Bravo maintains King’s verbal flair and linguistic style and slang, often by using the exact words taken from her tweets (one of the King’s gems that isn’t even used in the movie is “he’s lost in the sauce, and this bitch lost in the game”). But she also cleverly keeps King’s sense of embellishment for the sake of the story. The music and the visual atmosphere is absorbing – there is one scene in particular of Zola and Stefani in the bathroom that uses urine color to great effect. Bravo never takes her foot off the pedal and the pacing of the movie leaves you trying to keep up and gasping at each twist and turn. It cannot be overstated how good the decision was to have Bravo, a Black woman, direct this film instead of James Franco, who was originally slated to direct before the sexual misconduct allegations.
While the direction is crucial, the performances are also magnificent. Riley Keough – maybe the current reigning indie queen – is the loudest of them all, with her hair and makeup and attitude (and notably, her blaccent), all part of her personality that takes up the entire screen whenever she shows up. The other characters (played by Nicholas Braun and Colman Domingo) are also indelibly larger-than-life, but with little quirks and details that are too zany to have been made up. For example, a Nigerian accent creeps out whenever Domingo’s character loses his temper.
Zola herself is relatively grounded by comparison to the other insane people in the movie, but she is also wholly her own character. Although she primarily plays the role of observer and narrator, Zola is a bold and colorful personality (at different points in time, she tries to convince Stefani that “pussy is worth thousands” and refuses to wear pasties at a strip club). The most important thing is that she is just familiar enough with this underground world of dancing and sex work that she becomes both a vibrant commentator and an unwilling participant.
Zola is a cinematic adrenaline rush, but unlike most other movies it is not because of CGI or expensive set pieces or big action sequences. You are dropped briefly into this chaotic whirlwind of a weekend filled with sex, violence, and surprises. It is funny and grim and breathtaking, and perfectly captures the feverish energy and unpredictability of a night out when things keep ratcheting up and you have no choice but to be swept along. It is the story of the craziest night of your life – if it were 100x crazier.
Now playing in theatres.
