This article contains spoilers for the movie Blink Twice.
For those of you who may know me, you know I’m a movie fanatic. It doesn’t matter the genre, theme, cast, or length; I will sit down and watch it, devoting all my energy and attention to it, and then write about it. However, despite how much I love watching and reviewing any type of film, I’m biased when it comes to one specific genre: thrillers. When a movie makes me question myself, what I just watched, and my attention to detail due to how shocked I am by the end, it’s going to get a gold star from me. Blink Twice was exactly that; not knowing what could come next, hanging on the edge of my seat, and credits playing while my jaw dropped. The only way I can think to describe Blink Twice is shocking. I use shocking, simply because I had a preconceived notion of what the contents of the film were going to be based on the trailer and the promotion, which ended up being very different from the film itself. I admire anyone who went into this film blind without watching any trailers at all.
Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, Blink Twice, is a complete power move, and a great way for her to enter the actress-to-director pipeline that has introduced us to so many other artists, such as Greta Gerwig, Ava DuVernay, and Sofia Coppola. I feel like this film was a perfect path for her to take in creating her own style and completely paving her way as Zoë Kravitz the artist and individual, not just the daughter of an iconic actress and sex icon rockstar. This movie felt like a glimpse into her mind – her thoughts on patriarchy, abuse, and power. From start to finish, I was captivated by the storytelling: cuts to and from different scenes, closeups, set design, and foreshadowing were all unique elements that made this story so enticing to me.
The film starts off with two best friends and roommates, Frida (Naomi Ackie) and Jess (Alia Shawkat), who are working to survive. Day by day, they work for a catering company, waiting on rich people hand and foot to make ends meet, all while Frida is putting her passion for her nail art business on the back burner. When Frida gets the opportunity to meet her tech billionaire celebrity crush, Slater King (Channing Tatum), at a fundraising gala she’s working at, she takes it. She and Jess change into dresses during their break and join in with the other rich celebrities, ending up meeting the eccentric yet kind tech mogul. He invites them and some other girls, along with his close friends, to his private island for as long as they’d like. This, although random and rather abrupt to Frida, feels as though this is her chance of spontaneity and freedom from the shackles of her boring life. Soon, Frida and Jess are flying on a private jet with King’s entourage, taking a break from their duties as hardworking women.
On arrival, nothing is out of the ordinary – matter of fact, everything is perfect; from never not having a flute of champagne in their hands, delicious gourmet food for every meal, and luxury clothes and perfumes, to living suites that are larger than Frida and Jess’ entire apartment, and having absolutely no connection technologically to the outside world. The days stretch for what feels like weeks, with no worry of money or responsibility. Time is different on Slater King’s island, where people are prone to forget things. I noticed that all the staff and workers, even those who Slater King considers his friends, seem complacent. There are no problems, defiance, or any questioning, which can only lead to fear. Jess is the first one to bring it up to Frida, expressing that she feels odd about staying on the island. These feelings Jess had that were initially pushed down – her being wary of running off with strangers, locking her phone in some pouch that King hid somewhere in his suite, and the repetitiveness of getting drunk and high every night – had begun to resurface. However, when she expresses concern to her best friend Frida, she takes it as sabotage or Jess’ need to ruin this happy moment for her. Frida loves the freedom she feels, and tries to convince her friend to bask in it before they have to go back to reality.
This part of the movie started to lose me a little bit, from the serious tone of Jess wanting to leave, to using humor to sort of adhere to this narrative of complete luxury. There were elements of making fun of the rich, societal standards of what “a woman should look like,” and overall expectational differences between men and women that were tied into this humor, which I enjoyed at times. However, there were points where I felt like it was overly silly or that there wasn’t a need for a joke in a particular scene or moment. Also, at this point in the film, Jess goes missing, vanishing without a trace, and no one notices other than Frida at first. This was Frida’s sign that she should’ve listened to Jess’ concerns about this place and the strangers they just had decided to trust. This is when Frida, and her newfound friend and fellow islander, Sarah (Adria Arjona), wake up and come back to reality. After some investigating, exploring, and trial and error, they realize that the women are being drugged and controlled by the men through these flowers that are in their skin care, perfumes, food, etc. They decide it’s upon them to help the other women wake up from this twisted and misconstructed form of reality they had gotten so used to, and fight against the men’s abuse and power.
I heard many reviews and comments on the film about the gore, especially how rampant it was towards the end of the film, and how it put some people off. While I do hate gore and agree that it is extremely present in the film, I felt it was a necessary element. With so much of the movie being portrayed as bliss with an underlying issue that I just couldn’t put my finger on, this sense of action was crucial in moving the story along. I think that the use of gore, specifically in the fighting scenes, added that element of shock for me while watching. As I don’t want to completely spoil the film and its contents, I won’t give any specifics to the ending, but the fighting and gore did come with answers. I thought this climax was very well done; while surprising, it was also straightforward. A scene full of women banding together to fight against sick and evil men will never miss for me, especially while the song “ALL UP IN YOUR MIND” by Beyoncé is playing. I knew something was about to go down.
An ending that shocks me is truly a seller as to if I will recommend a thriller. I initially rated this movie with a three and a half star rating and a seven and a half out of ten review, solely because of the slight push for comedy in certain moments that I just found unnecessary. However, in terms of shock, this is a great thriller, and one of the better ones I’ve seen in a long time. It was fresh and unique, all while touching on important issues in today’s society. I want to specifically highlight Tatum’s acting, as I feel that this was such a different role for him. He’s always playing a dumb jock or teenager, the hearthrob lead, or some kind of dancer, so him playing a psychotic, misogynistic, eccentric tech billionaire surprised me. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance, and it made me appreciate his range. As I said before, I didn’t expect the movie to be about what it was, which also means I didn’t expect him to play a villain. I thought the role suited him, and his character really kept me engaged, specifically in all of his scenes with Ackie. The relationship between Frida and Slater King was portrayed beautifully and seamlessly, as the shift in the film caught me completely off guard at first. Because of this shock factor, I would fully recommend the film to almost anyone, but specifically to those who are looking for a decent thriller with hidden meanings and narratives threaded throughout. I’d say there is 100% a place for Zoë Kravitz in the directorial field.