Nicola Peltz Beckham has defended her directorial debut Lola after critics slammed the movie, labelling it ‘poverty porn’.
The film, recently released on streaming platforms, was also written by the heiress, who stars in the title role. The story follows a teenage girl in impoverished circumstances who wants to find a better life for herself and her younger brother before falling pregnant and facing a series of hardships including drug abuse, sex work and poverty.
The daughter of billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz defended the project to WWD back in February, saying: “The way I see it, I feel very connected to the characters I created. And like I said, my best friend and my godson, came from my life and a lot of connections and relationships came from my life.
“But of course, I did not grow up like Lola at all. And I wanted to write a story from a person’s perspective and another point of view that was not my personal view and not my upbringing. I am an actress and my dream is to get to look at the world from different perspectives.”
The film was called “poverty porn” by The Guardian reviewer Katy Ruth Ashcraft, who wrote: “What makes Lola such a flagrant example of poverty porn is just how careless the project feels in the context of Peltz Beckham’s exceptionally lavish life,” adding: “On the whole, Lola is a bad movie.”
Andrew Burton for Spectrum Culture added: “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.”
However, the criticism isn’t all bad, with the audience scoring a respectable 65 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans on the movie critic social platform Letterboxd also praised it, with one person writing: “Nicola Peltz Is so incredibly talented, she really portrayed her character to create emotion well,” while another person added: “This movie was absolutely beautiful. The cinematography was perfect. It's an incredibly encapsulating movie. It's a must-watch.”
Nicola was supported by the Beckhams, including mother-in-law Victoria, husband Brooklyn and brother-in-law Cruz for the movie’s premiere at the Regency Bruin Theatre, and posted about the experience on her Instagram, writing: “After this five-year labor of love, it’s such an honor to be able to work with Vertical to share Lola, a heartfelt story of generational trauma, perseverance and unconditional love. I have such respect and gratitude for the incredible cast and crew who I had the pleasure of being on this journey with. It takes a village and I love our village.”