August 26, 2024 · Watch the official trailer
A woman and her best friend are whisked away at a moment’s notice by an eccentric billionaire to his private island where they live a lavish lifestyle only to subtly realize that things aren’t exactly what they seem.
The subversive premise for Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut is an auspicious, audacious first film that slowly builds to a wild and dramatic climax with some of the year’s best visual moments.
There’s a ton of potential for Kravitz moving forward after “Blink Twice,” a film that clearly has a lot to say and isn’t overly dramatic about it. Perhaps a more seasoned filmmaker could have fine-tuned the chilling aspects of the narrative a bit more, but Kravitz has the capacity to build on her directorial debut and make her second feature incredibly dynamic and resonant.
What is here in “Blink Twice” feels a touch too homage-y to films that even mentioning their names would spoil much of what Kravitz wants her film to become by the third act. Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie are great in an ensemble driven movie that casts a wide net.
“Blink Twice” needs just a touch more speed to its pacing in order to drive the narrative along in a film that probably has one less character beat in the first act than it has to propel the movie forward and accelerate the tension. Over the course of the film, it’s as if Kravitz is finding her voice as a director and building upon her vision to where if the opening act was as strong as the finale, “Blink Twice” would be a true awards contender.
In spite of this, Kravitz directs with a clear point of view that accentuates the narrative’s message which becomes increasingly clear by the time the credits roll.
As the centerpiece of the film and the audience’s stand-in, Ackie is a compelling lead for “Blink Twice” and her Frida has a genuine naivety baked into both her performance and the storyline that works to unravel slowly over time as Kravitz navigates events on the island.
Conversely, Tatum’s broad charm and overwhelming physical presence somewhat muffle out any subtleties in the character work that he’s doing as billionaire Slater King.
Both he and Ackie do a solid job of maintaining their deeper character work as the plot machinations reveal what’s actually going on.
A solid ensemble cast led by veteran actors like Christian Slater and Geena Davis give “Blink Twice” a fully developed world in which to create a compelling story, though at times it’s difficult for Kravitz to narrow in on individual character moments for the 11 people isolated on the island and giving them enough to do to where audiences care about their fates by the time the film ends.
Where “Blink Twice” truly excels are the visual moments both in wide panoramas to give viewers a sense of place on the island and showcase its unique geography that comes into play over two hours, but also in the ways intense closeups allow Ackie and Tatum to reveal parts of their characters that audiences might not see coming.
There’s a gripping tension to the back half of the film that could make for strong re-watchability over time although it’s unclear how much of this would be lost on repeat viewings once audiences know all the twists and turns in advance.
In spite of an August release, this exceptional debut from a young filmmaker is still among the year’s best movies to date and “Blink Twice” is definitely worth seeking out in theaters before reviews and discourse spoil too much about the film’s plotline.
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