“Blink Twice”: Hollywood’s New Feminist Movie
Starring Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie, Blink Twice takes us to the dark parties on a millionaire’s private island.
Summary
During a fundraising gala, waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) gets acquainted with tech millionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum), to whom she is very attracted. To her surprise, Slater invites her to join him and his group of friends on an idyllic vacation on his private island.
The trip seems to go perfectly at first; everyone is devoted to enjoying themselves, eating great food, drinking, and partying to their hearts content. But when she starts to notice something is off, Frida will have to look into the true purpose of the island’s owner.
Well-Handled Suspense
Blink Twice was an interesting journey, and some aspects of the project deserve to be praised. This film was Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, and I think she did a good job.
When I reviewed Trap not so long ago, one of my complaints was that there seemed to be no stakes in the story. You did not feel the characters were actually in danger. This was not a problem with Blink Twice.
Kravitz manages to create a very claustrophobic and dark atmosphere, even though most of the story happens in plain daylight, with a paradisiacal place as a stage. The invitation from a stranger, the no cellphone rules, the strange attitude from men, and the matching outfits for all the women transmit a creepy vibe.
From the start, you have the feeling that something horrible is going to happen to the protagonist and that some members of the party are pretending that everything is fine. That is enough to be at the edge of your seat.
Channing Tatum’s Steals the Show
Channing Tatum is one of those actors that had never caught my attention, but in Blink Twice, he delivers an excellent performance. He is hands-down the best actor in the cast, and a lot of the tension in the film relies on him.
He manages to make Slater very charismatic, but he still projects an aura of danger. Even before we find out what he is up to, we can tell he is someone Frida should be afraid of. His presence is menacing.
Naomi Ackie, on the other hand, was not the best casting choice. Maybe it is just that her character is not the most interesting, but Tatum overshadows her.
I Thought The Feminist Fever Was Over, But…
Of course, Hollywood is not done with this topic. So the big plot twist is that the men are doing horrible things to the women of the group during the night, but they somehow forget everything by the following morning. That does not sound as far-fetched, for we know that the group spends the day drinking, and at night they have hallucinogens and keep partying.
But it turns out that what is making them forget is an ingredient in the perfume all women put on every morning, which was provided by Slater. The antidote is the venom of a snake that inhabits that island, and our protagonist gets to drink it without knowing what it is. By chance, we could say. A very convenient chance.
Frida manages to make the other women drink the antidote, and as they start to realize what has happened to them, they violently attack their abusers.
Delivering the Same Message Again
By this point, it becomes clear that the plot has lots of cracks. As the suspense was handled so well, maybe it’s not that evident at first sight, but if you take a second to think about it, there are plenty of things that would require some more explaining.
First, it would be impossible for the women to not know something had happened to them. If they were receiving a brutal treatment every night, that would leave more physical signs than just a random bruise or dirty nails. Even if they did not remember anything, for them to be completely unaware is not believable.
The idea of a magical perfume is a little dumb. The characters were doing drugs the whole film, it would have made more sense for Slater to give them more drugs to make them forget.
What is the villain’s motivation to do all this? Slater has some conversations with Frida about how forgetting traumatic situations is a blessing and how he is very resentful about being cancelled on social media. But that does not explain a lot.
All the male characters are evil and exploit women, just because the film needs to make a point. And I understand that Kravitz wanted to portray something radical and perverse, but it’s always the same exact thing. We have seen this many times before. It’s like Don’t Worry, Darling 2.0. Yes, men are all perverts, we got it.
There is a scene when Frida finds Polaroids showing a lot of people that have been to the island prior to the events of the film. This is presented in five seconds. So, are the men in the group millionaires who pay for the experience? Like a real-life island where plenty of Hollywood people seem to have visited? And this leads me to more questions.
Lots of Unanswered Questions
Is the development of this perfume somehow related to all the bad press Slater has gotten? How exactly is his therapist involved?
Why did Slater want Frida on the island again? As an experiment? Why is she special?
What was he going to do about Frida’s friend? She must have had friends and family, at some point, someone was going to ask for her.
The old lady who recognizes Frida and gives her the venom—who is she? What is she doing there? Why does she want to help her?
They introduce all these elements and mysteries, but they don’t bother to close them.
Box Office Results
According to The Numbers, Blink Twice has reached $30.757.912 in the two weekends it has been in theaters. With a reported production budget of $20.000.000, rentability should not be impossible to achieve.
Maybe it is mean to compare this film to Don’t Worry, Darling. This is much better made, and it’s not boring. But if you like cinema and have been a regular moviegoer for some years, you’re not missing much by skipping Blink Twice. There is nothing new to see here.
