Zoe Kravitz makes her directorial debut and really impresses in this contrived mystery that still manages to thrill.
PLOT: When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. As strange things start to happen, Frida questions her reality.
REVIEW: Zoë Kravitz has had quite an interesting career up to this point. From Fury Road to the streets of Gotham, Kravitz is always a standout. And now that she’s taking her talents behind the camera, it’s no surprise to see there’s a lot of potential. Blink Twice is a great example of a film that doesn’t break any new ground yet still is an interesting time at the movies. Following a group of people heading to a billionaire’s private island, they quickly discover that things are not as they seem, as they start having memory issues.
I went through quite the range of emotions when it came to Naomi Ackie‘s Frida. As a horror lover, I have a hard time with characters that make stupid decisions. Frida just seems to be constantly making them and I got more and more frustrated as the film went on. But there’s good reasoning for this that ended up helping out this apparent character flaw. Despite being one of the only characters with some layers, Alia Shawkat feels a little shortchanged. She practically feels replaced by Adria Arjona‘s Sarah, who becomes second lead out of nowhere. I’m sure this is intentional due to the consistent memory issues, but it results in yet another character feeling underutilized. Hell, I almost forget that Christian Slater and Haley Joel Osment are even in it.
Slater King is a tough role as he has to be affable while still having a darker side to him. Channing Tatum mostly pulls it off, though for as bad as the character is, we don’t see him in his element enough. I wanted to see this man do some truly depraved stuff to help earn him the reputation. Instead the film seems to want to constantly give him excuses. Tatum gets a great moment where he gets to show a little pathos, but otherwise he’s like a lost puppy dog.
Blink Twice is very heavy-handed with its messaging but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. Making it less “in your face” could have easily resulted in less people that need to see it, seeing it. Though it lingers on the mystery a tad long and can feel a bit meandering at times. Rather than sprinkling bread crumbs, the answers just come all at once, making it feel uneven. I expected the focus to be more on class disparity but it’s hardly even a factor, which is disappointing.
Zoe Kravitz proves to be a very competent director, telling a tight and tense story with several interesting reveals. I’d argue it’s still fairly rough around the edges, with a reliance on “girl power” moments over actual setup and payoffs. And for a tropically set film, I was shocked at the cinematography at times. There are some really ugly, underlit shots that had me squinting to make out details. There were moments when I just wanted the camera to back up a little so I could actually tell what was going on. And there are character beats that feel completely washed over with little emphasis. Still, there’s a great base, as she clearly has a very distinct vision.
There are many things to like about Blink Twice but it’s hard not to be just a little bit frustrated. The story is good and feels like it could have been great with just a few tweaks. As is, many characters feel wasted, and the narrative feels divorced from reality at times. But the messaging is on point and the story just flies by, which in this day and age, will always be a major plus. Kravitz is clearly very talented and has a distinct vision. I’m very curious to see what her sophomore effort will be as it will no doubt be more refined.
BLINK TWICE IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON AUGUST 23RD, 2024.
