A One Mann’s Movies review of “Lola” (2023).
I had the pleasure of meeting the “Lola” director Andrew Legge at a “Mark Kermode in 3D” event at London’s South Bank where Dr Mark featured this film. I found him a curiously quiet and reserved individual, given the management responsibilities of handling a film crew. But the clips shown of the film looked promising. I wasn’t prepared though for just how enthralling and cleverly done this film was. A little gem of a movie that gets one of my (very rare) highest ratings.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Martha (Stefanie Martini) and Thomasina (‘Tom’) (Emma Appleton) are sisters living in a rambling country house in the South of England in 1940. Thanks to the work of their deceased inventor father, they are now the guardians of a fantastic machine called ‘Lola’, named after their mother. The machine can be tuned to pick up broadcasts from the future. But a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, especially when the events of a world war can be influenced.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: NR. (From the BBFC: “Strong language, violence”).
Talent:
Starring: Emma Appleton, Stefanie Martini, Rory Fleck Byrne.
Directed by: Andrew Legge.
Written by: Andrew Legge & Angeli Macfarlane.
Twitter Handle: #LOLAfilm.
A giant leap for mankind – – back in 1940. With Tomasina (Emma Appleton. left) and Martha (Stefanie Martini). (Source: Bankside Films)
“Lola” Review:
Positives:
- This is just SUCH a clever film. Presented in grainy black and white and in an almost square format, the story is one of “found footage” and done in a semi-documentary style. The way in which it interweaves the filmed footage with original 40’s newsreel footage is fabulous. But hats off to the Visual Effects team (led by Visual Effects supervisor Christian Lett) for cunningly manipulating the old footage to tell their story: think of Forrest Gump appearing with all of those famous people and you’ll get the idea.
- And the script brilliantly hints at what is happening without leading the witness. There’s no BTTF “Sports Almanac” rammed in your face here! Just the randomness of a stallion standing in the hall and Sebastian commenting about “23 wins in a row” at Cheltenham!
- Both of the leading ladies are excellent in the contrasting roles with Martini as Martha, the seductive man-tease, and Appleton as the aptly-named tom-boy Tom, a much more mysterious and nuanced creature.
- The problem with these time-related films (particularly where this one goes) is closing out the story in a satisfying and believable way without blowing the viewers mind. And ‘Lola’ manages to achieve that. No spoilers, but the film neatly avoids any potential ‘paradox’ questions.
- The music is by Neil Hannon, he of the wonderful Divine Comedy. And very clever some of the songs are too. One from the future, “The Sound of Marching Feet”, is very effective (“…polish up your jackboots, and learn to march in time…”) and a wistful little number, “Remember Tomorrow”, is simply beautiful. And there are shades of “Yesterday” when the girls ‘compose’ and perform “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks. (Surely a cunning link to the film’s title).
Negatives:
- I wasn’t completely convinced that the discussion and language used was appropriate for the 1940’s and – rather like the penny Christopher Reeves finds in his pocket in “Somewhere in Time” – that sometimes mentally dragged me, screaming, back to the present. Of course, having the visibility of modern-day broadcasts, maybe the girls were inured to discussings of clitoral-pleasuring and fucking: but would the army bods like Sebastian ( Rory Fleck Byrne) and Cobcroft (Aaron Monaghan) join in at that level too? Methinks not.
Summary Thoughts on “Lola”
This is an astonishingly proficient film, and I absolutely loved it. Even the illustrious Mrs Movie Man, who doesn’t generally go for science fiction films, found it memorable and enthralling. It has, without a doubt, secured a high position in my Films of the Year list.
“Lola” is currently available to rent on Amazon Prime Video for £9.99 (as a new release, although I’m sure that price will come down in a few weeks). Even at that price, it is VERY much recommended.
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Trailer for “Lola”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coQTSc3I2LI .
