Blink twice is an interesting psychological thriller from first-time director Zoe Kravitz. While the film’s message is sure to be divisive, it’s an engaging film that offers thrills and a few surprises.
The story centers on Frida (Naomi Ackie), a young woman who has a meet cute with billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) while she is working as a cocktail waitress. Even though King has had some recent troubles (an early scene shows him making a public apology for some misdeed), Frida is somewhat infatuated with him. When he asks her and her friend Jess to join him and his friends on his private island, she jumps at the chance. Although it seems a fun time of good people, good food, with lots of alcohol and drugs, eventually Frida begins to suspect that something more sinister is afoot.
It is an intriguing story, but it does start out a little slow. We get scene after scene of the regular life of excess that exists on the island. Hang out at the pool, drink, eat extravagantly, and get stoned. Much of this is needed as it serves to set up the later part of the movie and starts to build Frida’s suspicions, but it does run on a bit long.
The movie picks up pace as we move towards the final act and Frida’s suspicions grow. As everything starts to go sideways, it’s a much more enjoyable portion and the movie truly settles into thriller territory. It’s very engaging and even throws in a few surprising moments. Unfortunately, there are a couple of moments that pulled me out of the film a bit.
First, there is a leap in logic that the characters make that seems absurd. This realization is needed to make the story work, but it happens very suddenly, and not much basis for it. I felt there could have been better ways to handle it. It seemed a quick and easy way to move the narrative forward, but it did not feel earned.
Second, there is a conversation between two characters that serves to explicitly delivers a message to the audience. It isn’t necessary as there’s enough happening outside this conversation for you to get it. But Blink Twice works extra hard to make sure you it doesn’t get missed. The conversation isn’t preachy, but it feels forced and is so jarring that I expected one of the characters to turn to the camera and say: “everybody got that?”. Blink Twice needed the confidence to lead the audience to the message. Sure, some will miss it, but there are those who won’t want to hear it anyway (at the showing I attended, 5 people walked out of the theatre shortly after this). But it would make for a better movie.
While the narrative has its weak moments, the cast really make it work. Tatum turns in an impressive performance. He easily switches from charming to menacing as needed. Ackie is just as good as she moves from naïve and enthralled to a stronger, more resilient character. Adria Ajorna also provides a nice performance as one of the other women on the island. And it is always nice to see Geena Davis. It’s a smaller role but she makes the best of it.
Visually the movie is beautiful. Kravtiz uses the island setting and its vibrant colours to set up the idyllic lifestyle of the island. As the more menacing underbelly begins to show, the movie plays more within the shadows. Either way, you can find yourself getting lost in the beauty of the island, and you can understand why the visitors feel the same.
Overall, Blink is an enjoyable film. It pulls you in slowly but once it kicks into high gear, it doesn’t let up. It’s an impressive debut from a new director that shows plenty of potential. The narrative does make a couple missteps, and the message can be a little heavy handed, but it is still an effective thriller. It’s bound to be divisive, but you should give it a try and make your mind up for yourself.
Have you seen Blink Twice? Are you planning to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.