Blink Twice Review

A pool party stuck in the shallow end

Zoë Kravitz's debut film, Blink Twice, has a lot of good stuff going for it and a lot that does not work. On the one hand, Kravitz has an excellent vision and style as a director who can create solid thrills. On the other hand, you have massive pacing issues, themes that barely touch the surface, and a forgettable ensemble cast that a director should have been able to pull more out of. I can admire Kravitz's willingness and boldness to go for it in a debut, but sometimes, going this all out without proper care can feel messy and indulgent. I am thrilled that everyone had a great time making this, and it is a beautifully well-shot film with exciting direction at times. Still, it was not the examination of billionaire freaks, complicity, abuse of power, and our cultural accountability that I think she thought it would be.

The film's plot revolves around Frida (Naomi Ackie), a struggling waitress who impulsively escapes to billionaire Slater King's (Channing Tatum) island with her friend after a chance encounter at a gala. Their carefree partying with Slater King's eccentric friends takes a dark turn when they begin to suspect something sinister about the island. Frida is then thrust into a race against time to uncover the truth and escape.

The direction and cinematography were the number one things I loved about the film. I love a camera that moves! Kravitz has a great eye for that and finds impressive cinematic shots that pop off the screen. The use of color, cuts, and quick pans all worked well, and you can tell Kravitz put a lot of effort into the film's overall style and feel. Later in the movie, when all hell breaks loose, I love that she went for it with the violence and has some real juice for set pieces that can create serious suspense. The sound design is also well done sometimes, but the louder mixing may have been off. Overall, it was a highlight. All these choices made me very excited to see where Kravitz's goes next. Performances were solid, but most lacked any juice outside the main leads.

Everything left in, and not knowing what to cut, makes it feel like a debut. Blink Twice has significant pacing issues. The first half feels unrestrained and needs to keep the tension up to justify its inclusion in the film, making it feel way longer than it is. Montage after montage of partying without any work to progress the plot or add anything interesting to the story makes this first half a complete slog. Once the plot finally started going somewhere and we had the twist, it felt like the themes Kravitz was trying to explore were not only surface level but also out of touch. It's interesting to look at the working class struggle of a black woman and what it would be like to look at the relationship with their oppressor. The film is not interested in engaging with what that might mean and looks more toward what would be a cool twist. It felt like an unoriginal look at the roles capitalism can take advantage of and control us, but it never wanted to look at what true liberation could look like. If I say anything positive, it explores "cancel culture" and how canceled people remain in seats of power and aren't really "canceled."

Blink Twice is a solid thriller that wishes it could say more, and I had expected it to be more fun. There is a beautiful style and sick, messed-up direction that I grabbed onto from Kravitz, but I wish it were more interesting to go somewhere darker or more creative thematic-wise. Despite some flaws, I will be seated to see where Kravitz goes next because she has some juice as a director with great flair.

Final Score: 6/10

Written by: Kevin J. Pettit