Blink Twice – A Thin Thriller

Films, for the most part, start from a premise and then build out and craft characters and stories to support them. The better films complete the process in a satisfying way and others skirt by off the strength of its parts. However, the effectiveness of that process is of course subjective. When it comes to Blink Twice, the feature written (co-writer) and directorial debut of actress Zoë Kravitz, the commentary it is trying to make is fairly obvious from the get go and doesn’t seem interested in doing much beyond that. The parallels to the exploits of Jeffrey Epstein and his island are unavoidable as the film fails to build off of that in a meaningful way. Beginning with a trigger warning, it doesn’t even try to hide what it is trying to do but it doesn’t change the fact that the subject matter could be triggering to some audiences. Speaking of parts, the film has undeniably a lot going for it, primarily its cast. Subject matter aside, it is a decent thriller that is still fun to watch but its thin story and characters as it never moves beyond its Epstein commentary. While Naomi Ackie shines, Channing Tatum is miscast as the charming villain.

The story is centered around disgraced yet charming tech billionaire Slater King (Tatum) who, by chance, meets a cocktail waitress named Frida (Ackie) at a fundraising gala. Inviting her and her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat), along with other friends and associates, to his lavish, self-sustaining, private island, what looked to be a dream vacation was one that was not quite what it seemed. As the days went on, they started to meld into one another. It was the same routine, waking up, participating in drugged up adventures, and dinner before the day would start all over again. Though innocent enough, it was only a matter of time until someone would notice that something was wrong. After a while, Frida began to notice that things weren’t adding up when nobody else suspected wrongdoing. Slowly but surely, digging deeper, she found that something else was going on to her and the other women on the island and that it was trying to be covered up. From there, it was also only a matter of time until the tides would turn and even then, there would be much more to that story. That being said, it doesn’t really matter seeing that the film provides little reason to care about any of the characters on a deeper level.

While the story is fun enough in spite of its depth issues, the best part of Blink Twice is Ackie’s performance as Frida. More of a means to an end in order to drive the story forward, she was still a compelling anchor to hone in on. In terms of the supporting cast, stocked with plenty of big names, they are all fine in their respective roles. Meanwhile, the other side of the equation, Tatum, as Slater, packs on the charm but he lacks the range to deliver every facet of the character.

At the end of the day, Blink Twice is a decent thriller that fails to build out from its blatant messaging, resulting in a thin story and characters.

still courtesy of Warner Bros.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.