England, 1941, sisters Thomasina and Martha have created a machine that can intercept broadcasts from the future. This delightful apparatus allows them to explore their inner punk a generation before the movement comes into existence. But with World War II escalating, the sisters decide to use the machine as a weapon of intelligence, with world-altering consequences.
Review:
Fans of found footage horror films will enjoy Lola, a found footage sci-fi and alternative warped history drama that seemingly combines real and recreated news clip for a cautionary tale on messing with the future.
The two sisters, Martha and Thomasina Hanbury (played by Stefani Martini and Emma Appleton, respectively), have created essentially a time portal television (Lola) that can pick up future broadcasts. If they just sat around and watched sports and betted on them they would be rich, but there would be no movie.
Look but don’t touch will never apply to seeing the future movies. They must mess with the knowledge, prevent bad things from happening for good, for God and Country, to help Churchill Britain triumph over Nazi Germany. The twist- it’s all the things that now never happen that will change history for the worst.
To its credit, Lola stays small scale and human, never straying from how this future knowledge affects the sisters and tragically changes their history. This allows for a love story of sorts to bloom and tragedies of character to take hold and play out. Lola is structured as a long lost now discovered documentary made as a warning from one sister to the other. History can be made and unmade in Lola.
History buffs will analyze and debate all the what-if scenarios that get played out. Particularly weirdly funny is the warped David Bowie arc that turns him into a fascist dupe singing racist National identity agitprop pop songs.
Martini and Appleton have a palpable screen presence. Much of their dialogue and acting seems improvised, giving a history happening in the moment effect. The director, Andrew Legge trusts them to fully flesh out their barely blonde and brunette personalities. He just wants to play with his toys, create a pastiche drama about the intersection between fatalism and invention. Legge gives Lola fizz.
Martini and Appleton give Lola the emotional core. For one sister, it’s a window. For the other it’s a weapon to destroy the male hierarchy. Inventing and living in the future are two different things.
Lola gets a 3.5 out of 5 or a B+. It’s available on Amazon Prime PPV.
Credits:
Directed by
Andrew Legge
Written by
Andrew Legge
Angeli Macfarlane
Produced by
Alan Maher
John Wallace
Starring
Cinematography
Oona Menges
Edited by
Colin Campbell
Music by
Production
company
Cowtown Pictures
Release date
5 August 2022 (Locarno Film Festival)
Running time
79 minutes
Countries
Ireland
United Kingdom
Language
English
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