Don’t ‘Blink’
Zoë Kravitz begins with what many are calling a #MeToo thriller but it’s more Fuck-around-and-find-out.
Blink Twice
Director: Zoë Kravitz • Writers: Zoë Kravitz, ET Feigenbaum
Starring: Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat, Channing Tatum, Adria Arjona, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Haley Joel Osment
USA • 1hr 42mins
Opens Hong Kong Aug 22 • IIB
Grade: B+
It should be noted that the working title for Zoë Kravitz’s Blink Twice, was Pussy Island. Now, Blink Twice isn’t the subtlest of piss-takes, but calling it Pussy Island would have instantly launched it into the upper echelons of white guy roastage. However, as Kravitz told Entertainment Weekly in July, “It was made very clear to me that ‘pussy’ is a word that we, our society, are not ready to embrace yet. There were a lot of roadblocks along the way, whether it be the MPAA not wanting to put it on a poster, or a billboard, or a kiosk; movie theatres not wanting to put it on a ticket.” Kravitz says she was aiming for pussy as a reclamation project, but women were the largest resisters to the title. “I think that’s something I have the responsibility as a filmmaker to listen to.”
True that, especially considering her sleek, stylish, film school nerd debut is essentially a Jeffrey Epstein hit piece, in which no bad deed goes unpunished. There’s an awful lot to unpack in Blink Twice, and in truth any woman who 1) has a job, or 2) ever had a shower will recognise most of it. How many times have you wanted to punch someone in the throat for saying, “Oh come on, smile!” Yeah. Me too. In the vaguely satirical thriller Kravitz and co-writer ET Feigenbaum take on (deep breath) power imbalances, class and race divides, sexual violence, tech culture and the bonkers way women get gaslighted for suggesting shit’s fucked up and/or punished for daring to. It can be on the nose, but it’s also immensely entertaining and a lot of fun given the subject matter.
No Solo cups?
Frida (Naomi Ackie, I Wanna Dance with Somebody) and Jess (Alia Shawkat) are two waiters working an industry gala for Elon Musk-ish tech bro Slater King’s (Channing Tatum) KingTech. King is on a global apology tour for some inappropriate behaviours we never get more details on but which become obvious later. Frida and Jess are the kind of gal pals that have all kinds of shorthands for each other, who develope in-jokes fast, and who are brutally honest with each other. They got each other. After the dinner, they sneak into the private party and blah blah blah wind up with an invitation to King’s private island. It’s all very last minute but the idyllic getaway has all their needs covered as well as all the amazing food, flowing champagne and all the “fat blunts” a girl could need. Also along for the party are King’s right hand Vic (Christian Slater, perfect), his chef Cody (porn star Simon Rex), and CFO Tom (Haley Joel Osment). There are other beautiful women there too: Sarah (the increasingly awesome Adria Arjona, Hit Man Morbius), the polar opposite of a solid gal pal, Camila (Liz Caribel) and Heather (Trew Mullen). But at some point the charm of the endless bacchanal wears off, and Frida – despite her girlish infatuation with King – starts to notice something is very, very wrong with this island.
Most of us will be able to guess where Blink Twice is heading, and its messages – believe women, trauma’s a bitch, inaction is as shitty as action – are right there on the surface. But from the moment DOP Adam Newport-Berra (The Last Black Man in San Francisco) racks focus on a little frog in the opening scene, Kravitz knows exactly where she’s going, how other filmmakers have told this story (this is very much what Don’t Worry Darling wanted to be), and how to energise it. There’s a knowing authenticity to the story that makes it as infuriating as it is frequently hilarious and Newport-Berra’s saturated, symmetrical images and Chanda Dancy’s propulsive score sweep us along. Ackie has a grounded presence that helps us understand Frida, even in her contradictions, and we feel her realisations in the gut, but surprisingly it’s Tatum who steals the show in a revelatory turn. He’s charming, menacing, depraved, entitled and sexy, and his moment explaining his concept of “Sorry” is utterly mesmerising.
Kravitz proves herself an astute student of cinema who’s unashamed of revelling in her influences, but who can also turn them over enough to have a good time and, maybe, twist the knife a little on dickheads like Slater King – and the Jeffery Epsteins of the world. Kravitz has plenty to say (though she wisely avoids diving into the nuances of privilege because, c’mon), but Blink Twice doesn’t hint at what her voice sounds like. It isn’t quite as clever as it thinks it is, and it doesn’t evoke the fist pump “Yeah, fuck you!” of Thelma & Louise – though Geena Davis has a fantastic time playing with Thelma’s hard-won wisdom – but it comes very close. Can’t wait for Zoë’s next. — DEK