Finally went to go see the movie "Zola," which I had long been anticipating ever since I read about how the movie is based on an epic, true, 148-Twitter thread from 2015. (Filmmakers will truly do anything except create an original screenplay, amiright?) ((ok that's unfair, but a funny comment to make nonetheless))
As I had been hyping it up in my mind for quite a well, especially it being an A24 movie, perhaps one of the reasons I felt let-down is because I spent too long fantasizing about it. The aesthetic and the wacky origin story seemed hilarious, fun, and enticing. Which, don't get me wrong-- they are. But the general story structure felt a bit flat and repetitive, resulting in characters who ended up with very little arc, and little to no change by the end of the story.
Let me first say that what this movie DID do excellently well was create the world, mood, and rhythm of the story. A lot of unique shots and filmed observations about human behavior and this specific world that differentiated who Zola is, and who Stefani is, telling you, the audience that from the outside they might seem like they are from the same world, but are very different from one another (often painting Zola in the more positive light, which, of course makes sense, as this is from her perspective).
The acting felt very natural and "laissez-faire," (NOT lazy) but I didn't always follow their emotional point of views of the drastic situations they kept being put in. It's like the plot points were trying to prove a rise in stakes, but the characters themselves didn't respond to it, or did for a very fleeting moment before giving in. Taylour Paige and Riley Keough are both STUNNING to look at throughout, and the most endearing, heartfelt moments were those fleeting close-up shots of Riley's eyes revealing a deeper, sadder, character that I wish could have been more fleshed out.
What we most hope to see when we go see a story, is how the characters have changed from the beginning, to the end of the movie. Whether they've grown, for better or for worse. Unfortunately, I don't think I got a feeling of that here. To the point that when the credits started rolling, I was genuinely surprised. I was thinking "wait, that's it??" The conclusion felt too easy, with too much left unexplained. I'm not one to complain about short movies, but this one truly felt too short. Although maybe that's a testament to how thoroughly engaged I was the whole time.
What I think the source material proves, more than anything, is that life? Is not a movie. In reality, going away for a weekend and getting into a whole lotta trouble, doesn't mean we're going to walk away changed. It just means we now have a hell of a story to talk about on the internet. And sometimes... that's all it is. A crazy ass story.