A directorial debut is a statement of intent. Especially when an actor makes the jump from in front to behind the camera, all eyes are on them to see, more or less, what they’re all about. By the time the title of her first film was announced, it was clear that Zoë Kravitz‘s transition would be a bold one. Although that initial title, Pussy Island, was softened to the more innocuous Blink Twice, the result is no less fearless.
Blink Twice casually melds various genres- horror, thriller, black comedy- while managing to weave in topical subject matter. And the best part? It all fits together perfectly. Usually when a movie opens with a prolonged trigger warning, it’s seen as a courtesy to the audience. In Blink Twice‘s case, it’s the first indication that Zoë Kravitz will not tread lightly in her first go behind the camera. Find out why Blink Twice is so successful at its unique approach to genre filmmaking after the jump below!
Zoë Kravitz’s Blink Twice drags us along for a wild ride
Frida (Naomi Ackie) is a cocktail waitress with a penchant for nail art. Her best friend, roommate, and co-worker Jess (Alia Shawkat) makes their working class existence a little less miserable. When the two are working a private gala, Frida catches the eye of controversial tech figure Slater King (Channing Tatum). Frida and Jess’s work event turns into a low-key party. Charmed by his brief time knowing Frida, Slater invites her and Jess to his private island. There’s only one rule: no phones allowed.
Upon their arrival, Frida and Jess find King’s island to be like something out of a dream. Director of photography Adam Newport-Berra captures the idyllic nature of Slater King’s de-facto paradise. Palm trees out of a postcard, the hot sun reflecting off of a comically refreshing-looking pool; it’s no wonder Frida and Jess are so enticed. After who knows how long of living their luxury fantasy, a disorientation slowly creeps up on Frida and Jess. As they start to snap out of the spell of Slater and his rich friends, a reality stranger than fiction comes to life.
Zoë Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum‘s screenplay constantly stays one step ahead of the audience. Due to no small assistance from Zoë Kravitz the director, Blink Twice keeps you firmly in the moment. The wild parties courtesy of Slater King just feel fun as hell to be a part of. The obvious red flags planted by Kravitz early on are easily ignored because Slater and his friends, jerks though many of them may appear, are a great hang. This approach allows the true evil to seep into the picture slowly, but surely.
There’s two distinct halves of Blink Twice: a hang-out comedy and the madness that follows. Both are bridged together by a madcap conversation between Frida and fellow island guest Sarah (Adria Arjona). Once that conversation happens, Zoë Kravitz starts to turn her cards over. Disconcerting characters, like a strange maid played by María Elena Olivares, or even innocuous images like Frida’s memory of her and the other island guests running gleefully into the night draped in white, take on a sinister, even occult undertones.
The sight of a lizard just barely glossed over at the beginning of the film could turn out to be monumentally important. Several earlier lines in the film turn out to be instances of “double speak”, where the increasingly nefarious island inhabitants’ words are a form of code. There’s a deep satisfaction in seeing how deep the conspiracy at the heart of Blink Twice goes, rivaled only by the catharsis of our protagonist’s fight against that evil.
Naomi Ackie, Adria Arjona, and Channing Tatum lead an impeccable cast
Despite appearing in high profile projects like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Naomi Ackie still feels somewhat underrated. Hopefully Blink Twice will shake this notion. As Frida, she’s fantastic, carving out a three-dimensional protagonist whose chemistry with the ever-charming Alia Shawkat is as believable as her desire to break out of her working-class station. Even as the stakes of the plot get bleak, she remains a headstrong, lovable protagonist who you want to see claw her way out of the belly of the beast.
She’s matched by Adria Arjona, whose icy exterior reveals an analytical, badass survivor (no pun intended, given her character’s backstory as a contestant on a Survivor knock-off). With each passing film, especially since Hit Man, it’s clear that she is primed to be one of Hollywood’s most exciting leading ladies. A sequence where she yells out the code phrase “Fat blunts!” is up there among the funniest scenes in any 2024 film.
The actors playing Slater King’s friends are a collection of truly underrated character actors. Christian Slater, Simon Rex, and Haley Joel Osment are all different fonts of the same “scumbag hanger-on” archetype and it works every single time. Their biggest trick is, after the truly despicable actions committed by said characters, they still remain incredibly fun to watch. And what can be said about Geena Davis, a veteran actress who imbues the character of Slater’s assistant with more layers to peel back with an onion. She truly doesn’t show any signs of slowing down as a generational talent.
Channing Tatum has the hardest job in the film. He has to be genuinely charming, while hinting at something off, before truly letting the mask slip to reveal his true colors. He sticks the landing every time. It’s truly remarkable how distinct of a character Slater is. He could’ve very easily come off as the typical “nice guy hiding bad intentions”, but Tatum takes the deeper material Zoë Kravitz throws at him and runs with it.
He becomes a recognizable figure, sadly, in modern culture: the covert misogynist, who knows how to say the right things to perform allyship before losing it when things don’t go his way. A scene towards the end of the film where Tatum screams the same line over and over again could’ve been embarrassing if handled wrongly. In the context of Blink Twice, it’s the moment audiences will remember far after the credits roll.
Zoë Kravitz’s incisive social commentary in Blink Twice
Zoë Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum are two of the bravest people in Hollywood. While there’s a definite shared DNA with social thrillers like Get Out, Blink Twice is a different breed. It’s rare to see a movie from a major studio jump this headfirst into the dangerous waters of incisive social commentary. Managing to build an extremely fun movie out of that? An extra feat in and of itself. For those who want to go into Blink Twice completely blind, stop reading now. Minor spoilers will follow.
Blink Twice is a righteously angry takedown of misogyny. Not the outright, easy to spot misogyny, but the kind that hides under the veneer of performative progressivism. Blink Twice goes to some deeply unpleasant pleases. The trigger warning at the start of the film, while spoiling the surprise of what the film will entail, is apt. Zoë Kravitz wants to talk about rape culture, those complicit in it, and how even in years of great progress it hasn’t gone away, just become harder to spot. Despite the horrible actions inflicted on our protagonists, they never boil down to simple victims for the story to torture. They are the avatars of justice, and their revenge is oh so sweet.
That Zoë Kravitz manages to explore these very prominent themes without giving easy answers or let the movie turn too didactic is a testament to her talents. Any aspect of Blink Twice works spectacularly on its own. Yet, the best part is that it has the ambition and follow through to do many things at once and do them perfectly. It’s hard to think of a directorial debut, especially from such an established actress, this exciting in recent memory. Blink Twice is major, a wickedly smart crowd pleaser that has its cake and eats it too. I’ll be lined up first thing for Zoë Kravitz‘s next film, whatever it may be.
Blink Twice is now in theaters. Have you seen it yet? What did you think? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus!
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