by John Bizub, Contributing Writer
While major blockbusters gain their fair share of box office revenue back for the studios, independent films, as of recent, have had the same impact. Films like Hereditary, Parasite, and Nomadland all have gained some box office success and have garnered tons of word of mouth. If there is one independent film studio that has been gaining tons of festival buzz and word of mouth, it’s A24. They have become the standard for the independent film scene, sometimes turning small, low budget filmmakers into household names. Zola is the studio’s most recent film. It is directed by Janicza Bravo and stars Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, and Nicholas Braun. The film tells the true story, which was originally published as a Twitter thread, of a girl named Zola and her adventures in Tampa, Florida.
Going into the film, I had no recollection of the thread or the actual story. I was ready to see this wild narrative unfold for itself, and hearing from the reaction from Sundance back in 2019, I was keen to see this film. I do commend A24 for marketing their films to gain a public persona. Many found 2018’s Hereditary to be wonderful, and their marketing was great to get people in theaters. But I was unfortunately underwhelmed with Zola.
While this movie isn’t awful by any means, it just feels very inconsistent. The performances by everyone involved, especially Nicholas Braun, are very solid and capture the essence of modern Floridians’ trashiness. The camera work and stylistic choices were all very creative, giving this movie a very dream-like and atmospheric edge to give it a personality.
My main issue is that this film builds up to this huge climactic moment. And while it comes and is the best portion of the film, it feels very lackluster and makes everything else feel insignificant. Trust me, I love slow burns. But this one felt kind of dull and made me question if the story was made for the big screen or was better off as a Twitter thread. I do commend Bravo for trying to make a Twitter thread into a major film, but I just felt cold and empty by the film’s end.
The film also fails due to its ill-conceived editing. With every major crazy moment comes a very lifeless one where shots linger for far too long. This is exacerbated by the forgettable score by the always remarkable Mica Levi.
Zola had so much potential. It had fun performances and clever moments throughout to give it a sharpness and fun atmosphere, but at times, it felt very empty. The film ended very abruptly with no loose ends tied and nothing left to interpretation. I’m curious about what others think of this and to see what Bravo does next. Because of her dream-like atmosphere, she brings this film out, but I was left very cold, uninterested, and empty by the film’s 90 minute runtime.
Grade: C-