It’s taken me a while to write this review for the Cineworld Unlimited Screening of the new movie Zola, I was going through the motions of the review as I was seeing some people raving about the film and I wasn’t overly impressed.
Synopsis:
“Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out? It’s kind of long but full of suspense.”
Thus began the odyssey of one A’Ziah King, aka ZOLA. From acclaimed writer/director Janicza Bravo, Zola’s stranger-than-fiction saga, which she first told in a now-iconic series of viral, uproarious tweets, comes to dazzling cinematic life.
Zola (newcomer Taylour Paige), a Detroit waitress, strikes up a new friendship with a customer, Stefani (Riley Keough), who seduces her to join a weekend partying in Florida. What at first seems like a glamorous trip full of “hoeism” rapidly transforms into a 48-hour journey involving a nameless pimp, an idiot boyfriend, some shady guys in Tampa, and other unexpected adventures in this wild, see-it-to-believe-it tale.
Writer-director Janicza Bravo (Lemon) this story of two women who hit the road to score quick cash dancing for money in Tampa, only to find their friendship tested when one of them isn’t who she claims to be.
This is Bravo’s second feature and it is claimed to be a comedy-thriller, but to be honest, I really didn’t find it funny at all and found that the film just dragged along for its tiresome 86 minute running time!
Zola is one of those films, for me, that the trailer grabbed my attention and then the film fell flat with its editing and the way it is shot, it’s amazing what a films source can be these days and to make a film out of 148 tweets just didn’t grab my interest during the film.
The film certainly needs its 18 certificate with the strong sex and violence, at one point in the screening I thought I was watching a porn movie, yep it’s that intense, violence wise it’s a lot tamer than many of the 15 age-rated action movies out at the moment.
Zola Official Trailer
Zola is out now in cinemas, so it’s time to make up your own mind about the film, personally for me I wasn’t impressed with the release and it’s certainly a film I won’t be watching again!
Y’all wanna hear a story...
Movie title: Zola (@Zola)
Movie description: A stripper named Zola embarks on a wild road trip to Florida.
Date published: August 6, 2021
Country: UK
Duration: 86 min
Director(s): Janicza Bravo
Actor(s): Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun
Genre: Drama
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
