{"id":28014,"date":"2021-06-30T16:52:59","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T16:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=28014"},"modified":"2021-06-30T17:59:24","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T17:59:24","slug":"zola-reviews","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/zola-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reviews Are In: What Critics Are Saying About \u2018Zola\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Riley
Riley Keough and Taylour Paige in Zola<\/i> (Image: courtesy of A24)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tweet storm<\/a> heard \u2019round the world has finally made it to the big screen. Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris\u2019s Zola<\/em><\/a>, an adaptation of A\u2019Ziah \u201cZola\u201d King\u2019s Twitter<\/a> tale of a stripper road trip gone awry, opens in movie theaters\u2014real life movie theaters!\u2014today, starring Taylour Paige<\/a> as the titular Zola and Riley Keough<\/a> as the unpredictable white sex worker who dupes her into their Florida misadventure.<\/p>\n

The critics are weighing in with their thoughts on one of this summer\u2019s most anticipated releases. Here\u2019s what they have to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe original Twitter thread, laden with exclamation points and smileys, aimed to provoke amazement and incredulity. Wait, what? No way! Zola<\/em>, for all its displays of candor and bravado, both intellectualizes and literalizes what might have happened that weekend, and mutes the blunt poetry of King\u2019s voice. The plot points and images are offered up like term-paper prompts, inviting you to reflect on some of the urgent and fashionable topics of the day: white privilege; cultural appropriation; the male gaze; girl-boss feminism; sexual labor and commodity fetishism under late capitalism; Florida<\/a>, man. \u2026 Zola<\/em>, though it gestures in the direction of satire and Florida noir, lacks a consistent tone or point of view. There is plenty of drama, and some hard feelings \u2014 mostly courtesy of Derrek, who is jealous, anxious and altogether pathetic \u2014 but not a lot of intrigue or honest emotion. I guess if that\u2019s what you\u2019re after, it\u2019s best to stick to Twitter.\u201d \u2014 A.O. Scott, The New York Times<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cZola<\/em> is an adaptation that honors the story\u2019s digital genesis in freaky, creative ways, but it also feels like witnessing the remnants of a sputtering, failed firework, a movie that doesn\u2019t (and maybe never could) live up to the initial hype of its viral drop. \u2026 The original Zola thread was out-of-control, a romp through strip clubs and motel rooms that culminated in gunfire and a suicide attempt. But on-screen, all of that intoxicating drama and suspense feels flattened, even with Bravo and Harris\u2019s trippy approach.\u201d \u2014 Hazel Cliss, Jezebel<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Riley
Riley Keough and Taylour Paige in Zola<\/i> (Image: courtesy of A24)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWith Zola, however, the director Janicza Bravo has made a film that contends with the uneasy interplay between characters\u2019 online and offline selves. And it posits that we use the internet to fool ourselves as much as to fool others. \u2026 Zola <\/em>is refreshing because it understands a common emotional dependence on the internet, even\u2014or especially\u2014in the face of fear and anxiety.\u201d \u2014 Shirley Li, The Atlantic<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cA movie like this could easily turn into a tale where the protagonist is merely a bystander along with the viewer, with everything happening to her and no sign of agency or personality in sight. But again, I come back to Paige’s performance and how so much of it rides on what she does with those eyes, and not what she says. \u2026 Zola’s whirlwind dalliance with Stefani and her associates plays like a fever dream doubling as an allegory for gaslighting. It’s a jolt when, at a pivotal point, she wonders aloud, ‘Who’s looking out for me?’\u201d \u2014 Aisha Harris, NPR<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe movie\u2014like its advertising\u2014captures much of the zippiness and fun that made following Zola\u2019s tweets so exciting, but Bravo and her co-writer, the Tony-nominated playwright Jeremy O. Harris, never lose sight of the fact that, as thrilling as these events might be to experience vicariously, they must have been unpleasant and even terrifying to actually live through.\u201d \u2014 Karen Han, Slate<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAbove all, Zola<\/em> is a treat for fans and followers of the original Twitter thread. At the same time, the film occasionally leans too liberally on the story\u2019s viral popularity, failing to clarify hazier moments for the viewer who may not be familiar with the source material. \u2026 Still, the film effectively emphasizes what those who breathlessly followed along on Twitter already know: that a good story can come from anyone or anywhere, whether it\u2019s told shot by shot or 140 characters at a time.\u201d \u2014 Shannon Miller, A\/V Club<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29097,"featured_media":28015,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[38,3324,16],"yoast_head":"\nThe Reviews Are In: What Critics Are Saying About \u2018Zola\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Y\u2019all wanna hear what the critics are saying about Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris\u2019s Zola? 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