Blink Twice review: a 'stylish and savage' black comedy thriller

Zoë Kravitz is known for her role as Catwoman in "The Batman" – as well as for being the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, said Nicholas Barber on BBC Culture. But on the basis of her work on this film, I think she could become even better known as a writer-director. 

A "mind-bending black comedy thriller", "Blink Twice" stars the British actress Naomi Ackie as young woman named Frida who finds herself waitressing at an event hosted by a tech billionaire (Channing Tatum). When he invites her and her best friend (Alia Shawkat) to visit his private island, "they can hardly believe their luck" and are soon tucking into the fine wines and designer drugs that are provided by the billionaire; but, as the days and nights blur into "one indulgent haze", events begin to turn darker. 

Like a number of recent films about the hedonistic rich ("Triangle of Sadness", "Saltburn") the film gets off to an "intriguing and wickedly funny start", before losing its way as "the concepts overwhelm the plot". Still, it's "stylish and savage", and evidently the work of a "skilled writer-director", rather than just an actress who's "having a go at directing". 

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

I was pleasantly surprised, said Larushka Ivan-Zadeh in the Daily Mail. "Kravitz mixes up a provocative #MeToo cocktail" of cancel culture, forgiveness, female solidarity and more, "and does so in a way that is brilliantly entertaining and wildly funny". Meanwhile, Tatum (her real life fiancé) turns in a "storming" performance: he hasn't acted this well in a decade. 

There's so much going on in "Blink Twice", viewers may feel the need for "a lie-down in a dark room" afterwards, said Donald Clarke in The Irish Times. But while it's a "glossy package", there's "not quite enough inside".