“Blink Twice” Review
Naomi Ackie (Left) finds herself on the private island of Channing Tatum's mysterious billionaire Slater King in Blink Twice, a psychological thriller that marks the directorial debut of Zoë Kravitz.
While Zoë Kravitz has been a Hollywood mainstay for over a decade, she has made some strong moves behind the camera in recent years. After serving as a producer for a television remake of “High Fidelity” (a strong series that should never have been canceled on Hulu), Kravtiz has taken a big leap in this creative field by directing, cowriting and producing “Blink Twice”. As the summer season transitions into the fall/winter series of Oscar contenders, “Blink Twice” proves a strong thriller that feels like the right kind of film to end the summer season at the cinema.
After working at a gala event filled with affluent people, working class nail artist Frida (Naomi Ackie) befriends Slater King (Channing Tatum), an enigmatic billionaire who has recently landed in hot water for his abuse of power at his tech company. Seeking to make amends, King has been investing in large philanthropic efforts and, at the gala, invites Frida and her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) to his private island alongside a bunch of his wealthy pals. At first, the island seems like a paradise. However, as the vacation goes on, Frida discovers that something horrifying may be at the heart of the island.
Making her directorial debut, Zoë Kravitz makes a phenomenal splash and takes no prisoners with the story she’s chosen to tell. Alongside cowriter E.T. Feigenbaum, who wrote an episode of “High Fidelity”, the pair have made a script that takes on the world of the super wealthy in a slowly burning thriller that keeps you hooked all the way through. Many recent films have been taking on the growing divide between the rich and poor with so-called “eat the rich” films. Two of them, 2019’s “Parasite” and 2022’s “Triangle of Sadness”, have even won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (as well as the Oscar for Best Picture in the case of “Parasite”). With films like “Glass Onion”, “The Menu” and “Saltburn” existing within this genre, it can be hard to seem fresh, especially since the studio that produced “Blink Twice”, MGM Studios, is owned by Amazon. However, Kravitz and Feigenbaum’s script keeps things enticing with a terrific blend of terror, bacchanalia and comedy.
Filmed on the Yucatan Peninsula, “Blink Twice” has a marvelous scale to it. Every shot is exquisitely composed, the use of color is exceptional and the beauty of the landscape speaks for itself. Despite the strong style attached, calling “Blink Twice” a style-over-substance film would be a gross mischaracterization. The film’s beauty is perfectly offset by this deep feeling that something is wrong. While the idea of being whisked off to a billionaire’s island for a vacation seems fun, it’s also insanely suspicious. Gradually, elements are added to the uncertain atmosphere that make things even more unnerving.
As the film’s lead, Naomi Ackie has finally found a role that suits her talents. Ackie was likable enough in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” but just didn’t have enough screen time to justify her character’s entry so late into the saga. As for her performance as Whitney Houston in “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, she certainly gave it all she got but the bland writing and execution just made the film an unremarkable music biopic. Now, Ackie has the chance to dominate the screen and she delivers a masterful performance. Since “Blink Twice” is quick to get Frida on the island, Ackie only has a limited amount of time to gain the audience’s interest and she immediately grabs it, never letting go.
As the elusive billionaire, Channing Tatum brings all of his charm while also unveiling a different side to himself as an actor. Tatum has consistently proven himself to be an amazing presence across various genres but I don’t think I’ve seen such a dynamic role from him since his startling performance in “Foxcatcher”.
Along with a packed cast, including the likes of Alia Shawkat, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, Christian Slater and Kyle MacLachlan, “Blink Twice” certainly has a lot going for it in both the quantity and quality of its characters. However, it’s Adria Arjona who really stands out as Sarah, a survival reality television star, who joins Frida in investigating what is wrong with Slater King’s jungle abode. The partnership that arises between Ackie and Arjorna is full of strength and their teamwork makes way for a climax of insanity that had me glued to the screen.
Given the nature of some of these “eat the rich” films as well as the setting of a billionaire's private island, finding out what is happening behind the scenes of champagne and luxurious dinners is probably not that hard. But even if you can figure out what is happening on the island before the big reveal, it’s still an engaging thriller that you want to ride all the way until the end. With that said, Kravtiz and Feigenbaum’s script has multiple turns that the most attentive viewer would have a difficult time spotting.
On a side note, the theatrical screening of “Blink Twice” features a trigger warning from Amazon (the company that owns MGM) that I’m not sure helped the film. While I can appreciate the studio wanting to give a fair warning to the audience about what they’re about to see, I think that audiences already have a good idea of what they’re getting themselves into based on the film’s premise and R-rating. Furthermore, the descriptions in the trigger warning also might have led some audience members to prematurely figure out the twist which could hurt the viewing experience.
Full of paranoia, ecstasy and intrigue, “Blink Twice” presents an excellent debut from Zoë Kravtiz that shows promise for her as a filmmaker. If this is what she was able to achieve with her first film, I have very little doubt that I will be singing her praises for her sophomore effort.
