Movie Review: 'Blink Twice' Starring Channing Tatum

Blink Twice

Directed by Zoe Kravitz

Written by Zoe Kravitz, E.T Feigenbaum

Starring Naomie Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Adria Arjona

Release Date August 23rd, 2024

Published August 26th, 2024

Blink Twice stars Naomie Ackie as Frida, a young waitress who dreams of escaping the lowest rung of the economic ladder. She longs for the lives that she sees on Instagram, specifically the one lived by tech billionaire Slater King, played by Channing Tatum. King is first glimpsed as Frida is doom scrolling through social media. He’s apologizing for some unknown scandal and has vowed to step down as CEO and enter therapy to become a better person. This is enough to keep Frida’s fantasy about Slater King alive.

Frida has actually met Slater before, the previous year, when she waited tables at his corporate party. She made an impression on him and she hopes that he will remember her at this year’s big corporate party. Whether he remembers her or not is mentioned in their meeting this time but it doesn’t matter, Slater is taken with Frida and decides on a whim to invite her and her best friend and fellow waitress, Jess (Alia Shawkat), to a party on his private island. The only rule is no phones. Other than that, everything goes on the debauched island paradise.

Frida, Jess, and a gaggle of Slater’s hangers on and friends do copious amounts of drugs, drink endless amounts of champagne, and generally have a great time. At least, that’s what Frida thinks is happening. On the periphery however, an elderly island woman is glimpsed gathering snakes. This woman appears to know Frida though Frida doesn’t recognize the woman. The island woman makes vague references to things she assumes Frida will remember but a language barrier keeps them from actually having a conversation.

Of course, if you are going to see Blink Twice then you should already know what Frida doesn’t, nothing on the island is as it appears. Something is causing Frida and the rest of the guests to lose time. Hours, days, perhaps weeks pass but no one seems to know how much time has passed. Eventually, events conspire to help Frida clear her mind. This becomes the going concern of the rest of the movie after Jess disappears and Frida uncovers a terrifying secret related to the yellow snakes that live all over the island.

Blink Twice is the directorial debut of actor Zoe Kravitz and based on her work here, Kravitz has a great deal of potential as an auteur. Kravitz has a strong visual sensibility, she cares about the visual details in each scene, and her color palette is exceptional. Even the costumes reflect the storytelling with lots of bright whites to pick up the mud and possible blood that comes with the various revelations of the plot. Blink Twice moves at a good pace and the tension holds well throughout, letting us breathe for a moment before the tension takes hold again.

The film is wonderfully cast with Naomie Ackie as a terrific audience surrogate. She’s not just a blank slate for us to project ourselves onto, she’s a fully fleshed out character. We identify with her because she’s charismatic and intelligent. Yes, she allows herself to get swept up in the glamor and excitement of a billionaire bad boy, breaking the unspoken rule of never going to a secondary location by going to the billionaire’s island, but once there, she proves to be resourceful, determined, and crafty.

I especially loved the chemistry that develops between Ackie and Adria Arjona who plays Sara in the movie. Frida and Sara start off as rivals and you assume that their relationship will be antagonistic but Kravitz and screenwriting partner E.T Feigenbaum upend that expectation in the best way. I won’t go any further as I don’t want to spoil anything. Bottom line, Ackie and Arjona are terrific together. There are also terrific small performances from Christian Slater, newcomer Liz Caribel, and the scene stealing Haley Joel Osment.

Blink Twice isn’t perfect, there is a particular plot point regarding snake venom that I found confusing. That’s unfortunate because the snake venom is a big plot point in the movie. I also didn’t find the ending completely satisfying. The ending of Blink Twice is a tad abrupt. It needed more build, a little more foundation, and a little more time to breathe. That said, the ending is good enough and most of what came before it is excellent, making me care a great deal less about the flaws of the film.

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