Daisy
The eat-the-rich era of cinema has had its ups and downs.
But boy do I get excited when a new addition to this unofficial genre drops.
And after being sorely let down by so many of this year’s cinema releases – Blink Twice was the breath of fresh air I had been waiting for.
Being Zoe Kravitz’s first directing gig, she goes big. And the pay-off is a daring and transgressive piece of cinema that plants itself solidly above the recent installations of this narrative.
Blink Twice revolves around Frida (Naomi Ackie), a cocktail waitress with a niche interest in animal-inspired nail art. After stumbling into tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum), she’s swiftly pulled out of her mundane life and whisked away with her friend to King’s lavish private island.
Here, the two friends do their best to fit in amongst the gaggle of guests. They brush away the red flags, and their uneasiness slips away, as do the days. With an endless supply of champagne, drugs and vape juice, time starts to blur.
The sun-soaked setting is vibrant and lively. Kravitz pulls us in with stunning scenes and a saturated palette.
We as the audience are sucked into the fantasy just as much as the characters.
But it’s all a distraction from what is truly going on. And as the shadows start to seep in, the extravagant style becomes unnerving.
Things start to not add up. Memories get lost, and Frida must figure out what is going on before it is too late.
When we finally learn of the horrors taking place, the film doesn’t shy away from them. While the plot may have been predictable, the uncensored brutality wasn’t.
Blink Twice didn’t do subtlety. It screamed its rage right at the audience. And while it may have had a few loose threads and pitfalls in the plot, the statement was made loud and clear.
And the cast were brilliant at delivering the message.
Ackie commands centre stage as she transforms from fangirl to final girl. Tatum is compelling in his presentation of the ‘recently improved’, constantly vaping, tech bro who’s unsurprisingly still insufferable. And the supporting cast did a terrific job in setting the scene. From King’s sleazy and incredibly punchable lackeys to the ‘fat blunt queen’.
We’ve seen this story before. In fact, you could put the blurb for Blink Twice next to that of Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion and find they’re nearly identical. The only difference from a first glance is their maturity rating.
But what Blink Twice lacks in originality, it makes up for in its unrelenting savagery and audacious stylistic direction. Zoe Kravitz truly makes her mark in this striking directorial debut.
Year: 2024
Rating: R16
Running Time: 102 MIN
Genre: Thriller
Director: Zoë Kravitz
Starring: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, Alia Shawkat
Production Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios, Warner Bros.