First of all, the way director Janicza Bravo presents the story is beautifully articulated. Although I was initially skeptical about a film being only around an hour and twenty minutes long (I’m used to two- to three-hour sagas, I swear), I found that there wasn’t a single moment where I turned my head. I didn’t want to miss a thing.
The film retells the viral Tweets of A’Ziah “Zola” King, recounting her experience and eventual fallout with Stefani, a dancer she met at her job and built a 24hr friendship with, and their wild excursion to Florida. What unfolds is an exciting, hilarious, and thrilling descent into chaos, where strangers becoming fast friends turns out to be a dangerous trap — a crash course in the cold realities of sex work and manipulation. Stefani, in particular, exemplifies this, drawing Zola into a situation that is far from what it seemed.
The two women meet at Zola’s club, where Stefani essentially love-bombs her (that term can apply to friendships too, right?) and convinces her to join what she describes as a profitable trip to Florida to dance at clubs. The chemistry between the two actresses is magnetic, creating an adrenaline-filled dynamic, much like the instant bond you feel with a “work wife” in a strip club.
Zola is sharp and skeptical, but still finds herself thinking Stefani seems harmless enough, so off they go. After a cramped 20-hour SUV trip, accompanied by Stefani’s shy, beta boyfriend Derek and her menacing "pimp," X, Zola’s unease grows. Once they hit the club and make barely any money, Zola decides to call it a night, but Stefani's barrage of selfies to Mr. X triggers a series of events that Zola cannot escape. As she becomes more entangled in this dangerous world, she feels her identity slipping away, transforming from a bystander into a reluctant accomplice.
A lot of moments in Zola are deeply relatable. I especially appreciated how the scenes of getting ready for the club shift were portrayed. Personally, before I dance, I always hype myself up and decide what personality or "dancer alias" I’ll channel for the night. The film captures these kinds of rituals perfectly. The use of the “blaccent” by Riley Keough’s character Stefani, cements the appropriation often expressed in real life and less in film. This brings attention to the direct distinction of the two women as they navigate their often violent terrain and brings socio political influence in the film to the forefront, leaving me asking “is this appropriation of a black voice regurgitated by a white character in a film too much?”
I was also glad to see some moments of “hoe hesitancy” depicted, if not to bring it to the scope of perspective shared by civs and also some sex workers themselves. This whorephobia, or stigma, can be rampant. I think the film touched on these dynamics a bit but ultimately leaned towards showing a more complex, empathetic view, especially when Zola shifts from being reluctant to helping Stefani stay safe. Although Zola doesn't choose this role, the sense of solidarity is undeniable.
All in all, Zola offers suspenseful storytelling and an accurate, nuanced portrayal of sex work, friendships, and identity. The use of violence which was heavily portrayed throughout the film displayed the desperation and anxiety of the predicament Zola experiences and recounts in the film. Mica Levi’s film score was a standout for me, too—it's mix of harps, xylophones, and synths perfectly matched the film’s tone, creating a backdrop of sweet innocence mixed with chaotic, delusional circumstances.
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