(film review) - Blink Twice

I first heard of this film via a trailer which is very unlike me. That is not to say I know everything going on in Hollywood and the movies due out, but I do hear a fair amount of rumours quite a bit and films that have been stuck in development hell for years upon years, like The Crow for example, but Blink Twice came out of nowhere and when I found out it was directed by Zoë Kravitz, I was intrigued. I think I first saw Zoë in X-Men: First Class and I last saw her in 'The Batman'. In between that, it was Mad Max: Fury Road, so I had no idea she wanted to direct, so I found this refreshing. It is nice to have an actor turn director. Michael B. Jordan did it with Creed III, Daniel Kaluuya did it with 'The Kitchen' and Ben Affleck is also known for his great directorial work, so hopefully, Zoë has picked up and learnt a few things to become a decent to maybe even great director, only the film would tell, right? While I would not say this film is a masterpiece, but damn, it was a perfect, well-shot but triggering watch.

Frida (Naomi Ackie) is a waitress with her friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) and they are both invited to a former Tech CEO, Slater King's (Channing Tatum) private island. On the trip to the island, Frida and Jess meet Slater's bodyguard and work colleagues along with other friends or known media personalities who are travelling to the island for fun. Once on the island, whilst beautiful, carefree and remote, Frida starts to realise something is incredibly off with the trip, the island, the workers on the island and the hospitality. Frida must try to work out what is going on, and how to stop it and leave the island.

This film is really good. The writing is great, the acting is great, the plot is great. The music compliments the film although near the beginning I felt we had two back-to-back tracks that made me feel like I was watching a music channel. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts did something similar where I was taken out of the movie a little, due to the music choice and volume, but once the movie gets into gear, it's fine. I also felt the movie started off a little slow and I was a little unsure of what was happening at the very beginning. Maybe I missed it, but who is Frida and why should we care about her and what she is doing, going on in her life or about to do? But I realised that the film is more about what is going on, regardless of where Frida has been or her plans in life. Nothing much in the film is given but it does start to piece together.

I first noticed Naomi in a Star Wars movie (Rise of Skywalker), but for a moment in the movie, I kept saying to myself, isn't she playing Whitney Houston? But after the first few moments, I watched how Naomi commands the screen. She does a little eye acting and she plays her character really well, a fun jovial, carefree woman who wants something and to experience something different, but someone who also knows what she wants when she gets it, which leads me onto the character dynamics. All the characters rift off one another in a great way and everyone played their parts well as previously stated. It seems as though all the actors had fun making this movie as they were all engaging, which also leads into the story element of it all. Without going into spoilers, there is some unnecessary tension on the island which is resolved by the end of the movie but by this point, the entire story and events have changed gears to something more sinister. I really enjoyed this movie but it is triggering. Zoë did a great job with telling this story, the shots and the visuals, the dialogue, the execution, it was all very well done. I think I would have cleaned up the beginning a little by having a few more minutes centred around Frida Nd Jess, but other than that, I really enjoyed the movie.