Blink Twice Dir: Zoë Kravitz: 13th Floor Film Review

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Zoë Kravitz’s striking directorial debut, Blink Twice, is a must-watch #MeToo-inspired thriller.

Starring: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, Alia Shawkat

Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, Blink Twice, caught me off guard. With an Instagram-ready setting, a devilish psychotropic twist, and daring stylistic direction from the actor-turned-director, the film is far from good. Blink Twice is great. Kravitz, a nepo baby, proves that she is more than the daughter of rocker Lenny Kravitz. The film grapples with the looming shadow of the #MeToo movement and, as is the zeitgeist, Blink Twice has plenty to say about the rich. But the film, an enthralling watch, is a cut above its peers. Don’t Worry Darlingand Saltburn. Those films pale in comparison to Blink Twice. A transgressive white-knuckle exploration of gender politics that will horrify and amuse. Who knew that a film so discomforting could be this fun?

Frida, a clumsy cocktail waitress and budding nail artist played by the outstanding Naomi Ackie, falls head over heels, literally so, for Slater King (Channing Tatum). A tech-bro billionaire. In a whirlwind, Frida and her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) are whisked away by King to an island retreat. At first, Frida and Jess tolerate the uneasy stench of powerful, wealthy white men who bathe in hedonism. King incessantly asks: “Are you having a good time?” as he and his guests lounge by the pool, sipping an endless supply of champagne. In a drug-induced trance, days soon fade into one. Objects appear and disappear. Frida cannot explain the dirt under her nails. There is trouble in paradise. But Frida and Jess put on a happy face and bat their eyes.

Kravitz, who co-penned the script with High Fidelity writer E.T. Feigenbaum, isn’t subtle. The film, incandescent with rage, beats you over the head with its thesis until the obvious is splattered all over the lush tropical fauna. This is half the fun. Blink Twice is sardonic. The film doesn’t need to be subtle when monsters like Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein operated in plain sight. With wry casting, Tatum, the fiance of Kravitz, and his trope of miscreants, Haley Joel Osment, Simon Rex, Levon Hawke, and Christian Slater, are uneasy stand-ins for Weinstein and Epstein-type men. Kyle MacLachlan has a disquieting cameo as King’s therapist. Not all therapy is a force for good, as is revealed in Blink Twice‘s gloriously entertaining third act.

While this third act might not have the suspense of a grand Hitchkockian rug pull, Kravitz directs with conviction and does enough to make up for the script’s pitfalls. Blink Twice is teeming with a saturated white, green, yellow and red palette. This opulent background is at first comforting, then disconcerting, as things go array. The eerie aural texture of Blink Twice raised the hairs on my arms. All elements are set up for the bold third act, which you will revel in even if you see it coming. Kravitz doesn’t shy away from it’s savagery. You can’t forget it. Your memory won’t fail you, unlike Frida or Jess’s.

Thomas Giblin

Blink Twice is in cinemas now. Click here for tickets and showtimes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas Giblin
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