Blink Twice (dir. Zoë Kravitz)

By: Adam Freed

There is no denying the skill demonstrated by first time director Zoë Kravitz in setting the bait of intrigue for her audience and then reeling them toward a waiting gut punch. Kravitz (The Batman, Mad Max: Fury Road) is a gifted actress who seems well equipped to position herself amongst the finest contemporary socially conscious directors.  While Kravitz’s piercing thriller Blink Twice may not quite elevate into the same strata as a monumental debut like Jordan Peele’s Get Out (2017), it would be quite cynical to deny the existence of their parallels. As Blink Twice settles into its second act, it rises above what could’ve become a somewhat flimsy thriller about gendered power dynamics, and instead morphs itself into a generational rallying cry.

Set primarily on the remote private island of billionaire tech mogul Slater King, played by an eerily convincing Channing Tatum (Magic Mike), the film’s confined setting gives off an intentional aura of incarceration despite its tropical locale.  Joined by a crew of male best friends and a small collection of female acquaintances, King’s party island very quickly lives up to its infamous reputation.  Credit to Kravitz in addition to casting director Carmen Cuba for assembling a cast so perfectly fitting their plot based intentions.  The unmistakable common thread of casting Tatum in addition to Christian Slater (True Romance), Simon Rex (Red Rocket) and Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense) as King’s posse, serves the eventuality of their collective purpose to perfection.  In contrast, the film’s female cast serves a divergent purpose led by a commanding Naomi Ackie (Master of None) and the always delightful Adria Arjona (Hit Man).  As Blink Twice is allowed to unfold, its cast and setting meld into an almost Hitchcockian claustrophobic amalgam. The initially shallow pursuit of private jets and exotic compounds, quickly gives way to a palpable thriller akin to Ari Astor’s Midsommar (2019) in the sense that its complete picture irons flat many of the film’s confounding early wrinkles.

It is distinctly possible that Blink Twice and Zoë Kravitz will be met by a divisive response from mixed audiences. For those willing to embrace the density of the debut director's overt message, her film may become a rallying cry with legs. Sharing a great deal of thematic DNA with Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman (2020), Blink Twice as a complete picture leaves little room for debate as to its gravity.  While the first act of Kravitz’s film plays intentionally light, its third bears the heft of an anvil.  One is best to overlook some of the more under-thought and over-presented moments in Blink Twice and instead let the weight of the film's entirety speak to the totality of its value.

Target Score: 7.5/10  While it is unlikely that Blink Twice will enter the cultural mainstream with the same fanfare as Jordan Peele’s Get Out, it is apparent that Zoë Kravitz’s film has an equally significant message to share with the world.  Hidden beneath a layer of initially shallow proceedings, Kravitz wields a keen thematic blade through which she becomes an instant directorial success.