“Blink Twice” - Film Review
This review was originally posted on Film Obsessive.
It’s always interesting when an actor finally makes the leap to the director’s chair. Often, the actor stars in their directorial debut, but that’s not the case for Zoë Kravitz. Blink Twice is the product of seven years of hard work, and whether it’s a result of the time spent working on it or Kravitz’s sole focus on directing, the end result is a psychological thriller that will go down with the greats. It’s a self-assured debut that also announces Kravtiz’s voice as a director. More than a strong script and great performances, Kravitz has created something urgent, angry, and vicious with Blink Twice.
Frida (Naomi Ackie) dreams of running her own nail business, “aNAILmals by Frida.” Her reality is far less glamorous. She lives in a rundown apartment with her best friend, Jess (Alia Shawkat), and the two are perpetually running late. For work, for rent, for life. The roommates work catering gigs, and tonight’s event is a fundraiser hosted by tech mogul Slater King (Channing Tatum). A year ago, King was in hot water for a number of reasons, but has since started therapy, begun a charity, and bought an island without cell phones or work that he can use as an escape. Frida catches Slater’s eye and he invites the roommates to go with him and his friends to the island. What starts as fun partying devolves into something else, and soon Frida and Jess can’t shake the feeling that something sinister is afoot.
Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios © 2024 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Blink Twice is the first movie in memory that offers a trigger warning in the theater before the film starts, but it wasn’t the now-common mention of strobe light sequences. Blink Twice warns of its depictions of abuse of power and the violence that goes along with that. A website for resources is displayed as part of the message. The trailer makes it clear that something on Slater’s island is affecting the women, but not the men. It doesn’t take much to leap to a conclusion that will be close to the same one the film comes to, but hopefully this marks a trend. This warning doesn’t detract from the filmgoing experience, but it does help viewers who may be personally impacted by the type of violence that’s featured in Blink Twice.
Throughout the film, the characters debate the idea of forgiveness: whether it’s better to live with the memory of the hardships and trauma that have been endured, or to simply just forget it all. Frida and Slater find themselves on opposing sides of this debate, with Slater believing that forgiveness is impossible and we should all be so lucky as to be able to flip a switch and forget. The theme plays into the larger plot point of Blink Twice and going more in-depth would spoil it, but the question that Kravitz and co-writer E.T. Feigenbaum’s script poses is one that will ring true to anyone who has lived through a painful event. At first, forgetting and being able to push the associated struggle to the back of the mind is all one could ask for. It would be a reprieve, but it doesn’t actually solve anything. The only way out is through.
Zachary Greenwood © 2024 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Slater is a stand-in for the many, many celebrities who have issued apologies for wrongdoing and who believe that’s the extent of what they need to do to absolve themselves. Not just celebrities, but anyone. An “I’m sorry” is meaningless unless there is real, genuine change that goes along with it. Blink Twice is Tatum’s finest dramatic role. She’s the Man long ago proved he had the comedic chops, but a late-in-the-game scene in Blink Twice solidifies him as someone who’s a more fearless performer, equally charming and outright horrifying. Ackie is a more-than-game scene partner for Tatum, using her expressive eyes to plead with the audience to get her off the island. She switches from desperate, traumatized, and scared to laughing, joyful, and sweet at the drop of the hat. It’s a flip that many women have perfected because of the reality we all have to live in.
A few months ago, a viral TikTok asked women the question, “Would you rather be lost in the woods with a man or a bear.” Overwhelmingly, women picked the bear. Blink Twice essentially asks that question, but on an island. Is Frida safer on the island with a bear or with Slater King? Even without seeing the film, the answer is obvious. One of the responses to the TikTok question was “Bear, because If I got attacked by a bear people would believe me.” At one point in the film, when Frida realizes something is off, she contemplates calling the police, but another woman on the island (Adria Arjona) reminds her that the authorities would likely side with the well-known tech celebrity. It’s a stark reminder of how few women report the crimes they experience, and how even fewer find any sort of justice. Blink Twice is a psychological thriller that doubles down on its anger, even if the final moments don’t feel completely satisfying after what the women endured.
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