Lola Dust

AI and deepfakes already present a troubling conundrum for democracy in their relative infancy. The next decade and beyond could mean a breakdown in the trust of our own eyes and ears at best and the outright manipulation of reality by malicious actors at worst. Lola Dust is Dom Cutrupi’s dark interpretation of this possible future: a flawed film but one with a disturbingly realised vision.

Nadia (Jade Pattenden) is an aspiring actress who takes a mysterious audition that stands out from the rest of her experiences in the dehumanising film industry. All feels normal at first, but when manipulated footage appears of her on the news under a new alias – Lola Dust – announcing an affair with the UK’s controversial Home Secretary (Alex J. Campbell), she realises she has signed over her likeness to an elusive organisation, and legally agreed not to reveal her true identity. But when ‘Lola Dust’ becomes a firebrand celebrity for her extreme views, Nadia has to find the truth behind her alter-ego before her whole life is consumed by a lie.

Lola Dust is a captivating drama about the world of behaviour influence, manipulation and malicious electioneering. Set a short leap into the future, its dystopian story is one that is scarily contemplatable. Similar to Black Mirror’s haunting 2013 episode The Waldo Moment, it features a generated viral character being thrust to the forefront of culture, and being used by forces to spread chaos and fear into a political bloodstream. Nadia represents the truth in the story – but as the adage goes, a lie can spread around the world before the truth gets its shoes on.

The film feels relevant and pertinent in 2024 – a year of elections in which social media has played a crucial part. Fears of AI being used to attempt last minute interventions were unfounded this time, but given that the unhinged head of one of the world’s largest social media companies is now being invited to The White House, it shows how important defining truth in people’s minds can be. Lola Dust addresses this through the popularisation of an influential character that causes a breakdown in a society – with a message that division can sometimes be the most powerful weapon to those looking to undermine the truth.

The film’s dialogue is clunky and at times struggles to maintain authenticity for a story that is meant to be set in the not-so-distant future. Awkward references around the news reporting of the Home Secretary’s sex scandal don’t flow well, particularly to audience members who are likely to be attuned with politics. There are also plot holes or story beats that do not receive a satisfying explanation, such as why Nadia doesn’t make her own video explaining her situation – particularly once it becomes clear her faceless adversaries are operating outside the law and that the contract she has signed surely cannot be enforced. The filmmakers do try and address these points, but their efforts are underbaked.

The film is well-produced with solid visuals and a strong double performance from Jade Pattenden, who effortlessly switches from hopelessly romantic actress Nadia to the ferocious bigot Lola Dust. The poor narrative is outperformed by the production, and the themes the film explores, whilst verging into science-fiction, are interesting and relevant enough for Lola Dust to work as both an engaging thriller and foreboding prediction of the near-future.