(Andrew Legge, 2022)

LOLA is the latest picture from director Andrew Legge. An innovative take on sci-fi using the found-footage format, this counterfactual history flick set in the 1940s follows two sisters, Martha and Thomasina Hanbury (played by Stefanie Martini and Emma Appleton) who invent a machine that can receive radio and television broadcasts from the future. The film delivers surprising twists and memorable performances while the score by Neil Hannon anachronistically includes pop music from the 1960s to great effect. It is shot in black-and-white with a 4:3 aspect ratio (typical of films of the era), telling its story from the perspective of the sisters who share the responsibility of the camera. Martini and Appleton both learnt how to use a 16mm Bolex camera and operated the camera themselves in the scenes shot by their characters. Furthermore, Legge brilliantly incorporates archival footage featuring historical figures such as Oswald Mosley and Adolf Hitler. David Bowie’s Space Oddity and the Kinks’ You Really Got Me feature in the film with Stefanie Martini singing a swing version of You Really Got Me accompanied by Emma Appleton on the piano in a musical number, a particular highlight. Overall, I found this to be a gripping and fascinating watch which inventively re-writes history.

© Daniel Cummings 2023