Zoë Kravitz didn’t take it easy on herself with Blink Twice, her aggressively topical directorial debut. With an original working title of Pussy Island (a title I wish had stuck), you might be getting Jeffrey Epstein vibes, and that would be correct. The infamous pedo’s island of carnal pleasure was an inspiration for Kravitz’s thriller and rape/revenge fantasy. In a post-#MeToo world this kind of film looks very different than something like I Spit On Your Grave. The crimes are just as heinous, the vengeance just as sweet, but Kravitz isn’t content to be so easy. This is a film about trauma, memory, celebrity, and a culture of performative remorse.
Naomi Ackie, whose bizarre roller-coaster career includes playing a discarded Star Wars character and Whitney Houston, stars in Blink Twice as Frida. Doom scrolling her way through a life she hates as a waiter for high-end catered events, Frida would rather be known for her artistic nail designs. She’s become obsessed with billionaire tech bro Slater King (Channing Tatum), who is on an apology tour for some kind of unforgivable indiscretion. He’s doing the therapy, he’s saying all of the right things, and has bought a private island where he can get out of the spotlight and heal or something. Frida and her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) charm their way into an event Slater is hosting, and suddenly they are getting a taste of the sweet life they have admired on social media. Frida and Slater hit it off quickly, and he suddenly invites the two women to his private island, along with a handful of other women (including Adria Arjona) and a bunch of his friends played by Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Levon Hawke, and Haley Joel Osment.
Like a cross between Saltburn, Get Out, and Don’t Worry Darling, this island is a mix of pleasurable excess, paranoia, and epic gaslighting. Kravitz, who knows a thing or two about living the celebrity lifestyle, makes Slater’s little kingdom incredibly seductive. The food is impeccably shot, the music is a whole vibe unto itself, the drinks are bright and have little umbrellas, and the pool is a shimmering blue. When the designer drugs come out and the night spins into wild debauchery, you practically want to dance the night away with them.
Kravitz does a good job of balancing the energy of the party lifestyle with a growing mystery. Slater and Frida are getting closer, flirting with one another day and night. But Frida can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right. The island workers are giving off some seriously bad juju, Slater’s assistant (played by a twitchy Geena Davis) is just weird, and Frida might not be having as much fun as she thinks she is.
This kind of film is really tough to pull off. Kravitz and co-writer ET Feigenbaum are better at the broad strokes than the fine details. The island’s big secret is an intriguing mystery that can be hidden behind recurring gags (Jess’s lighter is always missing), odd character quirks (Osment’s character is a former child actor on an all-egg diet), and occasional dangers like venomous snakes. Kravitz keeps exchanges between the men and women on a surface level. It’s all pure pleasure and not much depth, which makes sense given the context but also can be infuriatingly flat. As Slater’s truth comes to light and Frida realizes what is really going on, Kravitz gets too cute by half. In short, there are plotholes and questions galore that go unanswered, as if the plot hadn’t been thought all of the way through in favor of creating a mood and making a statement.
Blink Twice is more successful the more it resembles a crowd-pleasing revenge thriller, and the best performances match that energy. Ackie’s Frida isn’t terribly interesting until her eyes are finally opened and she starts taking action. Tatum’s Slater King is the most compelling character by far. Pulling from the likes of Epstein, Musk, Trump, and other beta males pretending to be alphas, Slater is all false bravado and self-involvement. He’s exactly the ridiculous caricature this film needed. While Shawkat is always terrific as Jess, it’s a role that could’ve been expanded on; the same with Davis who could’ve done more as the most senior woman on the island. But it’s Arjona as the beautiful, resourceful reality competition winner Sarah who really kills it. She’s funny, and edgy, and when the violence erupts it’s like she takes over the movie from everyone else. And Slater, who just naturally gives off creepy vibes at this stage of his career, is a blast as Slater’s right-hand-man Vic, his Polaroid camera never far away. Polaroids are also naturally creepy, too, I think.
Kravitz shoots for the moon with Blink Twice, and while imperfect, it’s definitely provocative and the kind of film that will keep people talking. There are a lot of veteran filmmakers out there who have never done anything worth discussing, so her career is off to a good start and shows a ton of promise.
Amazon MGM Studios releases Blink Twice into theaters on August 23rd.
