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Nicola Peltz's directorial debut is slammed by critics as 'poverty porn'

Home> Film & TV> News

Updated 10:17 16 Apr 2024 GMT+1Published 10:15 16 Apr 2024 GMT+1

Nicola Peltz's directorial debut is slammed by critics as 'poverty porn'

Nicola is the daughter of billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz, and David Beckham is her father-in-law

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

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Featured Image Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images/Vertical Entertainment

Topics: Celebrity, News, Film and TV

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

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Nicola Peltz's directorial debut hasn't gone down well at all, with one viewer calling it 'genuinely laughable'.

Peltz, the wife of David and Victoria Beckham's eldest son Brooklyn, wrote, directed and starred in her movie Lola, which had a limited cinematic release in February.

The movie's synopsis reads: "Lola James (Peltz) works to save enough money to get her little brother, Arlo, out of their toxic home. Arlo keeps her hopeful, until one tragic night, when her whole world gets uprooted.

"From that moment on, nothing will ever be the same."

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Nicola Peltz plays the lead in her movie, Lola. (Vertical Entertainment)
Nicola Peltz plays the lead in her movie, Lola. (Vertical Entertainment)

But, in light of the 29-year-old being the daughter of billionaire Nelson Peltz and her film being about poverty, Lola has been slammed for being 'tone deaf'.

Critics didn't hold back when sharing their reviews on the movie.

Kady Ruth Ashcraft wrote for The Guardian: "If a nepo baby makes a laughably oblique film portraying what she must imagine to be the strife of the impoverished class, but hardly anyone watches it, will it hurt her career?"

She went on: "Peltz Beckham did achieve something with Lola: it’s called 'poverty porn', and in film, that means the exploitation of the conditions of poverty for entertainment and artistic recognition."

Elsewhere, Andrew Burton penned for Spectrum Culture: "It’s not a law that directors making slice-of-life flicks must be personally familiar with the material they are depicting, but before even watching Lola, the disconnect between the dead-end world the film takes place in and Peltz Beckham’s background stands out as jarring.

"One can’t help but feel that the project is doomed from the get-go because it is conceptually untenable."

At the time of writing, Lola boasts just 3.8/10 on IMDb.

One reviewer on the platform hailed the movie as a 'vanity project' for Peltz, as another called the film 'out of touch'.

"In no way does this film depict what the reality of drug addiction/poverty is," one person said.

"It was a genuinely laughable attempt at doing so. It was painfully obvious that the director of this film was not drawing from real life experience and knowledge.

"I recommend watching The Florida Project instead for something that actually feels somewhat authentic."

Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz-Beckham at the Lola premiere. (Steve Granitz/Getty Images)
Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz-Beckham at the Lola premiere. (Steve Granitz/Getty Images)

Another wrote: "As a passionate moviegoer, I had high hopes for Lola, but sadly, it fell short in almost every aspect. From the wooden acting to the terrible directing, this film left much to be desired."

Lola isn't currently streaming on any platforms, but is available to rent or buy from the likes of Amazon Prime and Apple TV+.

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