Blink Twice begins with an apology. Frida (Naomi Ackie) is watching disgraced tech CEO Slater King (Channing Tatum) express remorse in an interview for his past actions. We never learn what transgressions he committed, but Tatum nails the performatively humble delivery and therapy-speak of the celebrity mea culpa. He has established a charitable foundation in his name and will retreat to his private island for reflection, although Zoë Kravitz’s film is the product of a post-Epstein world, where billionaires retreating to private islands will surely raise suspicious eyebrows.
If Frida sees any red flags when Slater invites her to his island, she wilfully overlooks them at first – the lure of luxury, wealth and being part of his inner circle is too strong. “For the first time in my life I’m not invisible,” she tells her sceptical friend Jess (Alia Shawkat). Frida is drawn to Slater, and Kravitz uses Tatum’s charisma to seduce her into this lifestyle, but while charming female co-stars comes easily to the Magic Mike XXL (2015) star, he can’t fully sell the egotism and malevolence that Slater’s darker impulses require.
This is Kravitz’s directorial debut and she displays a knack for sharp cuts and vivid compositions, but the script she co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum (under the more arresting working title ‘Pussy Island’) is both overwritten and frustratingly vague. Slater’s evil plan is unnecessarily convoluted – do the ultra-rich need confoundingly elaborate schemes and exotic potions to abuse and exploit people with impunity? – and her characters are poorly defined. Witty performers like Simon Rex and Alia Shawkat intermittently breathe life into scenes, but most of the partygoers are barely given a chance to register as individuals, which makes it hard to get invested when the blood starts to flow. The one actor who shines is Adria Arjona, building on her Hit Man (2023) star turn with another eye-catching performance. She blazes with jealous indignation whenever she sees Slater and Frida together, and it’s a shame when this dynamic is abruptly dropped.
As Blink Twice unfolds, it’s nigh-on impossible to avoid thinking about Get Out (2017); in fact, Kravitz seems to encourage such thoughts with her choices, which include telltale nosebleeds, a revelatory box of polaroids, and ambiguously grinning groundstaff. But comparisons to a film as potent and fully realised as Jordan Peele’s debut don’t do Kravitz any favours. There’s a hollowness to this picture that undermines its satirical intent, and the closer one looks at Blink Twice the less seems to be there. As you leave the cinema you might find Slater King’s words echoing in your head: “Forgetting is a gift.”
► Blink Twice is in UK cinemas from 23 August.
