Blink Twice

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was Blink Twice and I thoroughly enjoyed it because it is really wild but also very thought-provoking.  Cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) and her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) bluff their way into an event where they meet Slater King (Channing Tatum), a notorious billionaire who has been forced to apologize publicly and to relinquish control of his tech company because of his inappropriate behavior.  He invites them to his private island along with his hangers-on Vic (Christian Slater), Cody (Simon Rex), Tom (Haley Joel Osment), and Lucas (Levon Hawke), their guests Sarah (Adria Arjona), Camille (Liz Caribel), and Heather (Trew Mullen), his personal assistant Stacy (Geena Davis), and his therapist Rich (Kyle McLachlan).  Once they arrive on the island their phones are confiscated but they stay in lavish accommodations, receive expensive gifts, and are treated to gourmet meals, champagne, and a never ending supply of drugs.  They spend their days, which all start to run together, in a haze of drunken debauchery until Jess starts to feel like something is very wrong.  Frida dismisses her concerns because she enjoys living like the 1% do but, when Jess disappears and the other guests do not remember her ever being there, she realizes that something sinister is going on.  This is a stylish and atmospheric thriller with a menacing performance from Tatum and a brutal, but strangely satisfying, third act.  However, what I enjoyed most was the social commentary about the imbalance of power between classes and genders, especially when it is leveraged to avoid taking responsibility for bad behavior.  There are also some intriguing discussions about repressing trauma, pitting women against each other instead of the patriarchy, and staying silent after witnessing wrongdoing.  This is entertaining (I laughed out loud during a twist at the end) and also a bit unsettling so I definitely look forward to future projects by Zoe Kravitz.

Note:  This could be very triggering for victims of sexual abuse.