Blink Twice

Because her manicure enterprise “Anailmals” (nail art featuring animal designs) hasn’t taken off, Frida (Naomi Ackie) and her roommate supplement their income as cater-waiters for events. At one such high-end engagement, the two young women meet tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum), who promptly invites them to his illustrious private island for a seemingly never-ending vacation.

While Zoë Kravitz’s directing debut has all the hallmarks of a thriller, and keeping its audience in a constant state of anticipation is one of the film’s priorities, the actress-turned-filmmaker doesn’t seem all that interested in using plot twists as shock value. Anyone familiar with the working title of the production may have already hazarded a connection to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell (Blink Twice’s fictional derivation is played by Geena Davis) but no amount of conjecture takes away from the pervasive sense of threat permeating each frame. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case. Without so much as entertaining the idea of resorting to graphic imagery, Kravitz manages to invoke deeply rooted fears and for the most painful truths, trusts her viewers to complete the picture for themselves.

Blink Twice seamlessly falls in line with the recent mainstream version of feminist cinema (Barbie, Don’t Worry Darling, Promising Young Woman), but also has an offbeat disposition going for it. The editing style takes some getting used to: each scene is cut away from at the earliest convenience, creating a false sense of a fast pace, as the first half of the film dwells on depicting the lavish lifestyle in this treacherous notion of paradise. Some elements of the screenplay – also written by Kravitz, in collaboration with ET Feigenbaum – require a certain suspension of disbelief, and there are statements that despite being vital to the main themes, come from unexpected characters, creating a downright perplexing experience.   

Either in spite or because of this, Slater King may easily be one of Tatum’s best roles to date. The charming villain is tailored to his strengths, while simultaneously allowing the headliner to explore previously uncharted territory. But Blink Twice also weaponises the viewer’s associations with its supporting actors (Kyle MacLachlan, Christian Slater, Simon Rex and Haley Joel Osment) and Kravitz elicits immersive performances all around from her all-star cast.

With its distinctive blend of style and sting, Blink Twice is the perfect late-summer blockbuster for those who have grown tired of a cinema lineup dominated by franchise films.

Selina Sondermann

Blink Twice is released nationwide on 23^rd August 2024.

Watch the trailer for Blink Twice here: