Film review: Zola

 

Leaving her disapproving boyfriend (Jewish actor Ari'el Stachel) behind in Detroit, Zola joins Stefani and her crew as they head for Tampa. The trip however takes a quick turn into a hellish sex trafficking nightmare involving Stefani’s violent pimp (Colman Domingo), a dead hustler and an attempted suicide.

 

There is so much going on in Bravo’s film that sometimes it feels as though too much has been crammed into its surprisingly short 86 minutes running time. Still Bravo has given us an undeniably engaging film which sits comfortably somewhere between fact and fiction. The film briefly, and humorously, attempts to tell the story from Stefani’s perspective, but we quickly realise that this is done more so to discredit her outlandish claims than to be taken seriously. 

 

Paige gives an admirable performable as Zola, but it is Keough who impresses the most in her signature bubblegum blonde delivery. Her high octane performance is coupled with a hilariously verbose mock African American vernacular which gives the impression of watching someone who doesn’t really know their true self.

 

Overall, this is a solid, engaging and hugely self-aware comedy. Perhaps the most admirable thing about Bravo’s adaption is her refusal to cast any judgement on the girls, choosing instead to tell Zola’s story how she herself had intended it, with streetwise sassiness and plenty of humour.