Zola

Zola is pure, uncut black market Florida. Like Sprinbreakers or Florida Project, it IS the state incarnate - or at least what's so endlessly scrollable about it). It's also a riotous funny dark comedy about how uncanny and gross the sex work world is (visa vi Backpage and so on), but also how black women always seem to have to come to the emotional and physical rescue of white women. And ironically as much as I love Paige and Keough's performances here (the latter sounding like she listened/watched a lot of Nikki Minaj's Anaconda song and or video, a fully sincere compliment), Braun - Greg from Succession, a true treasure at playing dumb and awkward, and Colman Domino's X (and his going between two accents just ::chefs kiss::) are stunning in their perfection of identifying an authenticity of these people. That's the key here: as wild as this gets, we always believe the people... at least as far as Zola's oh maybe 85-90% reliable narrator takes us.

I do wonder if this will have the same punch once the surprise wears off on a repeat viewing, but for now I can bask in the glow of this magnificently directed and truly modern comic exploitation yarn. The secret MVPs here though are the background detail players, like the two kids repeating the same basketball moves on the balcony at the motel or the couple performing whatever the hell music that is in the hotel lobby when Zola comes storming in.

Really interesting style used to tell a quite incredible, although mostly straightforward story. There is a deliberate undercurrent of unreliable narration that works really well. The dialogue and interplay are somewhat realistic but there is just enough background surrealism to give the film a dreamy, unreality feel. Acting is great and the powerplay and character dynamics are totally believed.

So now we have come to the point were we are making movies based on a Twitter feed?

No shade being thrown here, as this movie proves a good story is a good story and this was a good story so I give props to the original source.

It's got suspense and its got humor and just a bunch of insane characters.

It's like Spring breakers only at 11.

Highly enjoyable.

I really liked this movie. It tells the story which the screenplay was made from the real life tweets from one of the characters.

A chance meeting of two girls in a diner ends up with a trip from Michigan to Florida with one taking her boyfriend and "roommate" and her new friend "Zola" to do some pole dancing for a few days then back. What it turns out is far more dark and somewhat deadly.

Note the tweet sounds in the movie alongside the narrative, quite graphic in parts but for me it was justified as it added to the quick decent both girls found themselves in.

This movie is a good one to watch as a public information ad, some teenagers should definitely watch it to be warned how easy it is to get trapped in a situation with little room for a way out.

As a story, viewers are ultimate left wondering how much of this fantasied adaptation is real. As a film, the production feels scrambled - at times the protagonist and antagonist become caricatures of themselves, while at others the character dynamic is glossed over for continuity.

That said, the entertainment value is absolutely there; after all, we go to movies to enjoy ourselves. There are dabs of humor in this film (an elderly stripper counting money), political activism insertion (police beating a suspect), and a climatic ending. Take the approach I did and enjoy it for what it is...