Blink Twice [Review]
Are you having a good time?
Blink Twice. Credit: Amazon MGM Studios
Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, Blink Twice, is a captivating thriller. Together with co-writer E.T. Feigenbaum, Kravitz has made a scary, funny, and timely film.
Cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) meets tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum), who invites her to join his friends on a vacation on his private island. She impulsively agrees, bringing along her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat). Things start to get weird, and Frida questions whether she’s actually “having a good time.”
As the movie begins and progresses through its first act, it plays more like a romance than a thriller. Frida is swept off her feet by Slater, the man of her dreams, with a romantic gesture in their meet-cute and taken to his lavish castle—his private Eden. Once there, she competes for Slater’s affection with Sarah (Adria Arjona), all while trying to fit into a world that would otherwise be inaccessible due to her means. So far, the movie has leaned on romance tropes in the setup.
Blink Twice. Credit: Amazon MGM Studios
The film then shifts gears into thriller mode, which the audience should already expect due to the marketing. The trailers gave the game away, revealing that Channing Tatum is the villain in this story and that something is horribly wrong. The film’s laughs become uneasy, just like the characters, as the sense of danger becomes palpable. The fact that the shift feels effortless and the remainder of the film remains shocking despite the marketing’s reveal speaks to the skill in Kravitz’s direction.
Some great performances drive the film. Channing Tatum’s casting is inspired; he’s a highlight as he plays against type. Naomi Ackie and Adria Arjona are both excellent, with nuanced performances that expertly transform with the film’s shifts in balances of power. Christian Slater and Simon Rex, as Tatum’s lawyer and chef, exude a sense of slimy menace. Alia Shawkat and Geena Davis’ roles are both small, but they put in powerful performances.
Blink Twice. Credit: Amazon MGM Studios
The film’s impactful sound design left an impression on me. Late in the movie, there’s a standout scene where characters have become hypervigilant. A change in the sound design, signaling Frida noticing every sound and movement, helps heighten the terror of the scene. In general, the film’s technical execution is excellent, really putting us in Frida’s head.
Blink Twice is a film about power and having control over people. It’s about how we deal with trauma. It’s about what women are expected to do by society to exist and survive—don’t forget to smile, pretend nothing is wrong. It’s a Garden of Eden allegory flipped on its head, where the snake was right. While it’s not exactly subtle about its presentation of these themes, it’s still a multi-layered, thoughtful film that is a great time in the theater.
Blink Twice opens in theaters Friday, August 23.
