It's been six years since the viral Twitter thread posted by the former exotic dancer A'Ziah Wells King captivated readers with suspenseful storytelling and wit. The long-awaited film adaptation of the 148-tweet-long story is here: Zola.
Janicza Bravo (writer, director) and Jeremy O'Harris (writer) attempted to bring the same irresistible factor of learning through this unfolding story how the Detroit stripper, stage named Zola, quickly befriended stripper Stefani. Their budding friendship leads to a road trip to Florida to strip for the weekend, yet everywhere they went, chaos followed.
It truly was a wild story where those following Zola's thread desperately wanted to hear why Zola and Stefani "fell out".
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However, unlike the captivating Twitter thread, the grip of knowing that things could start unravelling at any moment does not translate to the big screen – in part because we are frequently reminded that the story we're watching unfold is from that social platform.
The dialogue relies heavily on Twitter lingo and is accompanied by Urban Dictionary pop-up definitions for those unfamiliar with it. Throughout the film, the 'send tweet' sound is constantly heard, despite the fact that the original story wasn't a live tweet thread at all.
Riley Keough truly embodies Stefani, Zola's new bestie, however. With her over-the-top African American Vernacular English (AAVE), animated mannerisms and desperation to please, she is someone you want to trust, yet you can sense she has a concealed motive.
Riley is the walking embodiment of a tweet where white a white person uses AAVE slang with a gif of a Black woman reality star, and she plays it effortlessly. Taylour Paige sometimes struggles to portray the nuanced Zola, a confident stripper with a quick wit.
Paige's best moments are portraying how painfully uncomfortable she is in the many dangerous situations Stefani puts her in (staying in an dirty motel, getting propositioned, and the violent consequences). A simple look from Paige brings out a chuckle in the audience, a sense of shared understanding.
Colman Domingo gives an Oscar-deserving performance as the menacing pimp X. He plays him effortlessly, despite the character's own struggles to manage the trip while pimping out Zola and Stefani for money.
There are moments where he's incredibly terrifying, yet so ridiculous that the result is engaging and funny. Whether the Academy will recognise this film – and in particular Domingo's performance – remains to be seen, as Zola seems to fall outside previous examples of what Oscar-worthy is.
Scenes of X laying the groundwork to transform Stefani and Zola into sex workers is a harrowing reminder of how women can fall into human trafficking. Through the film, we witness their friendship transform into Stefani's manipulation of Zola into sex work under X.
Their relationship is what makes the movie work, the bond the two women share. However, not everyone is as savvy, assertive and hip to survival as Zola. In stark contrast to Zola, for whom this trip is solely a weekend of fun and nothing more, Stefani is in too deep without agency or access to the money she makes.
Although the Zola story is witty, the adventure shines a serious spotlight on how women are manipulated into prostitution, especially those who need money quickly.
As an attempt to bring an internet viral moment to Hollywood, Zola keeps audiences interested and entertained. Still, in recollection, it will never be as thrilling as that night in 2015 when Zola opened her Twitter thread with: "Y'all wanna hear a story about why me & this b*tch here fell out?????????"
Zola is now in cinemas.
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