No. 87 (2021) ZOLA OCT. 26th.

 

Film No. 87 (2021)  October 26th.  6:30 PM   Cinema 1.  LUNA,  Leederville. 

"From here on, watch every move this bitch makes" (a part of the voice narration overlay which gives clues to the story we are told we wanna hear!).

I won't beat around the bush here; ZOLA is not a film I liked, but it will have its fans. It is, however, imaginative in its structure and the idea of devising a story not from a memoir, or a biographical outpouring, but from a series of tweets is innovative. The tweets are from a girl, Zola (24ish) who became caught up in a bizarre life experience she would have preferred never to have become entangled in! 

So the positives are: 1. The performances of Taylour Paige (Zola) and Riley Keogh (Stefani). Paige has already gained work (BROTHERS; in pre-production) from this lead performance. Keogh; well who better to play an unhinged pole dancing wild-thing with so so many more services to offer? 2. A film style to reflect the digital, social media generation. ZOLA is a high octane, anti-social stream of consciousness that is meant to shock an older generation and entertain the young. 3. Another angle, effectively blaring a signal at a much maligned Florida underbelly.

The negatives, well I suppose, one from the keyboard of a 60's something film-lover is, WHO CARES? Plenty of another generation of film goer, that's who. The scenes of Stefani making the money Zola believes she deserves seemingly exist to reinforce the porn industry, so easily accessible to all and sundry in today's world. And the peripheral characters tacked onto the ill-fated road-trip are so unlikeable it's not surprising Zola has not a word of compassion coming her way. There is an emptiness in the film, I still haven't been able to tie down exactly what it is!

Anyway, enough said. If Zola appeals to a new selection of film goers, particularly if they decide on sitting in front of a big-screen then "hats off" from me. I hope they love Zola. Lots will.  6GUMS.