Film Festivals
Zola | Sundance Film Festival London 2021 Review
“Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out???????? It’s kind of long but full of suspense”. These were the words at the beginning of an 148 tweet long thread on Twitter from @_zolarmoon on October 27th 2015. The incredibly long thread went viral shortly after being posted and not long later, Rolling Stone published an article interviewing some of the people involved. And now in 2021, after premiering at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Zola, a film based on the twitter thread and the Rolling Stone article is being released.
Aziah “Zola” King was definitely right that it is a long story but it’s certainly full of suspense. The film sees Zola (Taylour Paige) working as a waitress when she meets Stefani (played by Riley Keough), a stripper who invites Zola on a trip to Florida with her boyfriend and mysterious roommate to make a lot of money dancing at high-end clubs in Tampa. What follows is a crazy, chaotic ride as Zola gets into all sorts of situations involving guns, prostitution and pimps as things start going wrong as she realises that she’s got in way over her head.
Janicza Bravo does a great job of bringing Zola’s Twitter thread to the big screen whilst still retaining some sense of it being told as if it were on Twitter and the original voice of the thread. Throughout the film there are constant sounds of notifications coming in, messages being sent, Tweets being tweeted- in fact every single time the film includes a direct quote or moment from the original thread we hear a tweet sound effect and it really helps give Zola its own unique style and to bring this crazy story to the big screen. Add in Zola’s narration throughout and the film has a really unique voice, much like the real Zola in the original Twitter thread.
After seeing the film, I immediately went and read the original 148 tweet long Twitter thread and unlike how I normally prefer to read a book before seeing the film adaptation I think with Zola it works much better to go in blind and then read the tweets because you’ll come out of seeing it and be so keen to read it in its original form and be taken aback by the wild story all over again.
Zola blends a few different genres with it being so darkly funny at times and incredibly suspenseful at others. The creepy and eerie atmosphere that the film creates keeps rising and getting stronger as the film goes on, resulting in a climax that is full of tension and has you on the edge of your seat.
There are a few moments where the mix of comedy and seriousness doesn’t quite land and you’re not quite sure if you should be laughing or not. But overall Zola is a really entertaining film. However, the highlight of the film is definitely the performances. Paige and Keough are both fantastic and help to carry the entire film. Watching them act and bounce off each other truly is incredible. Colman Domingo is also fantastic as ‘X’, Stefani’s pimp as he changes between American and Nigerian accents whenever trying to intimidate someone.
Zola is a wild journey, anchored by fantastic performances. The film manages to bring the chaos and unpredictability of the Twitter thread to the big screen in a really distinctive way, opening up a door of endless possibilities of what can be made into a film. If a Twitter thread can be turned into a film, anything can.
★★★★☆
Zola is released in UK cinemas on August 6th.
Every year at the Cannes Film Festival, there are one or two titles that catch fire and become the talk-of-the-croisette. Ruben Östlund’s raucous Palme d’Or-winning Triangle of Sadness made the most audible amount of noise this year (justifiably so). However, another film was on the tip of everybody’s lips and became a must-see sensation; Aftersun. The feature debut of Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells screened as part of the director’s fortnight section and is the little-indie-movie-that-could of not just this year’s Cannes Film Festival but of all of 2022. This special film has captured the hearts of all those who have seen it and will continue to do so for years to come. It’s why we keep coming back to the cinema: to discover exciting new voices and be completely absorbed in a story.
What’s remarkable about Aftersun (besides this being the debut of Wells) is how unremarkable and yet utterly captivating the story is. Set in the nineties, the plot follows a young single dad named Calum (Paul Mescal) who takes his spright 11-year-old daughter Sophie (breakout newcomer Frankie Corio) on a summer holiday to Turkey – and that’s pretty much it. For a film that lacks very little dramatic tension or conflict, Wells keeps you firmly and emotionally engaged throughout the breezy 95-minute runtime.
Sometimes, the little films about everything and nothing ring true the hardest and leave audiences the most moved. Stories that aren’t particularly flashy but manage to capture the beauty within the mundane little moments of life. Aftersun is one of those movies that will leave you weeping in your seat and wanting to call your parents after you’re done. Drawing from her own experiences with her father, Wells explores the dynamics of this paternal relationship without ever resorting to clichéd domestic squabbling that you’d typically expect from a premise like this. Thanks to her honest script and the marvelous performances from her two actors, it is joyful simply watching this father and daughter duo hanging out on vacation, discussing life, romance, drugs, hopes, and dreams with such candor.
Wells crafts a dignified two-person character study that is heartwarming but tinged with sadness. Her screenplay perfectly balances the two perspectives of the relationship allowing you to empathize with both characters. Sophie represents the bliss of youth as well the excitement of pending independence. At the same time, Calum represents the melancholy of youth-gone-by. Given the relatively small age gap between the two of them, Calum is often mistaken for Sophie’s older brother. While Sophie is clearly the light of his life, the drawback to becoming a father so young is that Calum sacrificed most of his own adolescence in the process. In a very touching scene that sees father and daughter sharing one single bedspread, Calum laments to his daughter that life didn’t exactly turn out the way he wanted, but we can see he wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s an absolute lightning-in-a-bottle pairing of actors, quality writing, and beautiful direction. The chemistry they share and the magic they create you can’t fake or teach.
Mescal’s ability to show internal hardship and regret with such subtlety is the reason why he is fast becoming one of the most sought-after talents of his generation. He’s had a tremendous few years with meaty projects such as Normal People, The Lost Daughter and his other hard-hitting drama to premiere at Cannes this year; God’s Creatures. Meanwhile, Frankie Corio is a revelation as Sophie. She effortlessly commands the screen with an emotional maturity well beyond her years. You would not know this was her first time in front of the camera from watching her performance. Memorize her name now, as this girl is undoubtedly destined for stardom.
Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk director Barry Jenkins served as an executive producer on Aftersun, and one can practically feel his steady guiding hand is resting on Wells’ shoulder. Given Jenkins’ propensity for creating films that sizzle with poetic chemistry, you can see he’s passed down sage advice to Wells on how to formulate an atmosphere that’s effulgent enough to bottle. It takes most filmmakers years of trial-and-error to master what Wells has accomplished on a first try. She confidently allows the story to flow naturally with a lazy holiday pace without ever becoming stagnant. Her ability to capture a moment in time is outstanding and extraordinarily impactful. Anybody that’s ever been on a package holiday to Europe will feel an immediate kinship with her story, and those who haven’t will still feel something anyway. Her emphasis on the little details; the arcade games, evening karaoke, doubles games of pool, screaming children at water parks, and eager holiday representatives cringingly trying to get tourists to do the Macarena – it’s all so familiar and makes Aftersun such an emotionally resonant watch. She also takes some risks with her narrative structure which certainly pays off, particularly with the last shot, which is slightly abstract but will bring a tear to your eye, leaving the audience on an achingly bittersweet note. She also uses brief flash-forwards that help recontextualizes the camcorder holiday footage that bookends the entire film.
Aftersun is a little miracle of a film that marks the ceremonious arrival of both filmmaker Charlotte Wells and her young star Frankie Corio. It also features a never-better performance from Paul Mescal, which at the very least should generate some awards-season discussion for the young 26-year-old Irish actor. Thanks to Wells’ wonderfully human characters, astute direction, and stellar performances, Aftersun truly is about the little moments that seem insignificant at the time but become the precious stuff we treasure as adults. It’s the type of film we’re lucky to have in our lives as it offers the viewer a window into the soul of a sensitive and wonderful new storyteller.
Aftersun premiered as part of the directors fortnight at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Aftersun is being distributed by MUBI for theatrical distribution in UK-Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Latin America, Austria, Turkey and India. And A24 has acquired the North American rights. Stay up to date with Luke’s coverage from the Cannes Film Festival via Twitter, Youtube, Instagram and TikTok @lukehearfield
Three Things Todd Phillips’ Joker Sequel Can Do To Surpass The First
By now, we all know that Todd Phillips is helming the sequel to the Oscar-winning comic-book adaptation Joker. It was...
Why ‘Return to Oz’ is one of my favorite films now
I have said it once and I’ll say it again. Nothing could match the sheer brilliance of the 1939 Judy...
Why ‘Joker’ Is Better Than ‘Captain Marvel’
The 2010s proved to be the age of the comic-book movies and I’m not just talking about the Avengers movies,...
The Flash | Official Trailer
Barry Allen uses his super speed to change the past, but his attempt to save his family creates a world...
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | New Trailer
Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their...
James Gunn Has Released His DCU Lineup Today
James Gunn’s DCU lineup has been revealed. Gunn says his new direction for the DCU will be an eight to...
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always | Official Trailer – Netflix
The Rangers come face-to-face with a familiar threat from the past. In the midst of a global crisis, they are...
Once Upon a Time in Ukraine | Official Trailer
What if Taras Shevchenko put down his pen and took a samurai sword into his hands?
WWE 2K23 Review | Acknowledge It
German suplexes and Superman punches and spears, oh my!
