6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A stripper named Zola embarks on a wild road trip to Florida.
Starring: Riley Keough, Colman Domingo, Nicholas Braun, Jason Mitchell (XVI), Taylour PaigeDark humor | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Well, folks, we've arrived at a point where a viral Twitter thread can serve as the basis for a screenplay, and to that phenomenon I say: why not? When a woman named Aziah "Zola" King started Tweeting about a (mis?)adventure she had had in Florida (of course), the posts quickly became an internet sensation (how do these things happen?), and soon enough Rolling Stone was on hand with a really engaging account of the whole situation in a piece by David Kushner entitled The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted. Now anyone who has ever gone down any number of different varieties of social media rabbit holes will have acres of content to share with you, but the bottom line is it's often easy to find "characters" in these (ostensible) real life scenarios that match anything created by the finest minds of this or any generation. In that regard, it's undeniable that the real life Zola has a very distinctive voice and probably obviously persona, which ports over to this cinematic version in typically raucous and at times intentionally provocative style. That said, Zola may not be everyone's cup of tea (and/or THC, as the case may be), in an absolutely gonzo tale that includes a road trip by brand new kinda sorta besties and various hangers on, with a kind of tawdry if admittedly hilarious prostitution subplot that, from reading some ancillary articles linked to the original Zola tweets (including the Rolling Stone article linked to above), some who were involved in the overall shenanigans dispute. Somewhat cheekily, Zola addresses this in what might be thought of as its own version of Rashomon, albeit transported to Florida and involving strippers who may or may not be involved in any number of other escapades.
Zola is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The film was shot on 16mm and finished at a 2K DI, and the results are a suitably gritty, lo-fi looking presentation that admirably mirrors the lifestyles on display. Detail levels are quite winning throughout despite the smaller format and some less than optimal lighting conditions, and really only some very dimly lit or graded material can suffer measurably from deficits in fine detail. A lot of the close-up work offers generally great detail levels. Some of the animated add ons are a bit rough looking, which I assume was a stylistic choice. Grain can be just a bit mottled looking at times, with a slightly yellowish cast, but resolves without any major issues.
Zola features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is consistently energetic, buoyed by some fun underscore by Mica Levi. The road trip aspect gives the track some breathing room, and there are good ambient environmental effects dotting both the outdoor scenes, but even some interior locations like a strip joint the girls visit, or even a convenience market where one scene plays out. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.
This is really a propos of nothing other than my interest in marketing and/or orthography, but the cover of this release as well as its actual credits sequence lists its title as @Zola, and yet many online databases (including our own here at this site) remove the "@" symbol from the title of the film. That little "@" may hint at the source for this raucous tale, and may at least invite a little investigation by those interested to uncover Zola's original tweets, which have now entered the Internet Hall of Fame. This is not a film for anyone with an aversion to lots of bad language and/or bad behavior, but for those with such tolerances, Zola is a road trip like no other. Technical merits are solid, and Zola comes Recommended.
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