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Opening theatrically on August 23,2024, Zoë Kravitz has drawn rave reviews for her directorial debut,Blink Twice. The shocking island-set thriller begins as one kind of film before flipping the script and revealing its true intentions in the second half, encouraging viewers to rethink the events and piece together a mysterious puzzle that ends with an unforgettable bang. While the twisty thriller conventions and themes of wealth and power call to mind Emerald Fennell’sSaltburn, Blink Twicehas more to say with its salient social commentary regarding the wealthy elites who quite literally get away with murder.
WhereasSaltburndepicteda conniving hucksterinfiltrating a wealthy family, moving into their lavish estate, and manipulating the family to usurp its invaluable property, the stylish filmmaking didn’t succeed in covering up the lack of substance to its supposed social commentary. In contrast,Blink Twicehas much more to offer regarding the dangers of rich men preying on women and how the law does not apply to those who can buy their way out of trouble.Blink Twicesucceeds whereSaltburnfails, not only through the greater depth of its lead character but also by tightly tethering the style and substance to trenchant social commentary.
Blink Twice
Blink Twice Critiques the Power of Wealthy Men
Previously titledPussy Island,Blink Twiceis a psychological horror-thrillerdirected by Zoë Kravitz in her feature film debut. Co-written with Kravitz by E.T. Feigenbaum,the story concerns Frida (Naomi Ackie), a cocktail waitress who is invited with her friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) to an island getaway by Slater King(Channing Tatum in a superb performance), a charming and debaucherous billionaire tech tycoon cut from the cloth of Jeffrey Epstein.
Taken to an exclusive private island full of luxury only the wealthiest 1% can afford, Frida soon senses something amiss at the sumptuous resort. For instance, Slater surrounds himself with yes-men and bowing servants, including cameraman Vic (Christian Slater), DJ Tom (Hayley Joel Osment), and private chef Cody (Simon Rex), all of whom behave way too polite to trust and indicate something sinister afoot.
Meanwhile, a strange perfume is gifted to all the women and every employee has the same snake tattoo.Jess is bitten by a snake and forced to drink anti-venom by a maid who continually mentions something about a “Red Rabbit.“Once Jess disappears, Frida joins the other female guests at the resort to find her. They include Sarah (Adria Arjona), Camilla (Liz Caribel), and Heather (Trew Mullen),each of whom is systemically handpicked by Slater for shocking reasons. The film’s first half lulls viewers into a false sense of security with the booze and weed-filled atmosphere, only to flash much sharper teeth with its incisive second half.
Saltburn Doesn’t Have Much to Say
Written and directed by Emerald Fennell in her sophomore feature,Saltburnis a British psychological thriller that concernsthe manipulative exploits of Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a social climber who targets the wealthy Catton family. Oliver introduces himself to Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) at Oxford University, claiming to be a scholarship student from a poor background. Lying through his teeth at every moment, Oliver gains Felix’s sympathy by telling him that he grew up in an abusive household and that his parents are dead.It’s all a ruse to gain Felix’s trust before ripping his family apart for his own selfish gain.
Felix invites Oliver to stay with him at Saltburn, his family’s affluent estate in the English countryside. Once Oliver arrives, he immediately causes a massive stir within the household dynamic. He secretly seduces Felix’s sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) and sexually abuses Felix’s cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe). As Oliver becomes more obsessed with Felix, he wins over his parents, Sir James (Richard E. Grant) and Lady Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), sowing further division in the family.When Felix suddenly turns up dead in Saltburn’s hedge maze one night, Oliver advances his ploy to usurp the family’s power and wealth by killing each family member, one by one, until he isnamed the inheritor of the estate.
What begins as a social commentary on the British class system devolves into a disturbing character study about a supposed master manipulator and mendacious murderer out for his financial gain. Yet, as the movie’s substance becomes buried by the stylish filmmaking, it all becomes too outlandish to be taken seriously. In stark contrast,Blink Twicebecomes sharper as it progresses, amplifying Kravitz’s meaningful message.
Why Blink Twice Does It All Better
Marked by its candy-colored visuals and catchy pop music soundtrack,Saltburnis an exercise in high style over socially conscious substance. The biggest example comes in the final scene, which substitutes the movie’s paper-thin social commentary for Oliver’s psychotic karaoke rendition of Sophie Ellis Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor.” As Oliver celebrates his criminal triumphs, the movie strips away the significance of its “damn-the-wealthy” themes by granting a serial murderer the same wealth and privilege the movie supposedly condemns. It’s hollow at best, and hypocritical at worst.
Apart from bashing the movie’s “ostentatious visual language,“Sight & Sound’s reviewadds, “The story’s superficial treatment of its characters … becomes increasingly ruinous” and that “the most menacing thing anyone can muster here is a passive-aggressive karaoke choice”.The BBC’s positive reviewnoted how the film boasts style over substance, stating, “If you see it as a lurid pulp fantasy rather than a penetrating satire, then Saltburn is deliriously enjoyable.”
Beyond the style-over-substance critique, the half-hearted attempts to criticize the wealthy, out-of-touch elitism of the Catton family are thoroughly undermined byOliver and his scandalous behavior. The movie wants viewers to root for Oliver’s success, but the more vile his behavior becomes in his quest to steal the Cattons' wealth, power, and family property,the more unredeemable he becomes and the less the social commentary about wealth and privilege resonates. By the end, Felix is far worse than the affluent victims he targets, and it turns out he was faking his lower-class upbringing to begin with, rendering the social subtext moot. He’s become precisely what the movie purports to impugn, defeating its thematic purpose in waysBlink Twicedoes not.
How Cruel Intentions Paved the Way for Saltburn 25 Years Ago
Cruel Intentions' aesthetic of individuals using sex, seduction, and status as leverage became some of the inspiration for Emerald Fennel’s Saltburn.
By contrast,Blink Twicemakes viewers identify with Frida and root for her to get her revenge against the privileged elites who use the island as a crime scene for unthinkable sexual abuse. InSaltburn,Oliver is the sexual deviant who does not get his comeuppance, emboldening characters like Slater King to continue to violate others until they are caught.Blink Twicegives such a character genuine consequences for their egregious actions, whereasSaltburnrewards them and allows them to perpetuate their crimes in the future. The difference is thatBlink Twicedeliberately reverberates its social criticisms whileSaltburnpurposelymuffles it with poor direction and sloppy plot points.
Blink Twiceis currently playing in theaters &Saltburnis available to stream on Prime Video.
