Blink twice (now streaming on MGM+) marks the arrival of Zoe Kravitz, filmmaker. We know her for her on-screen roles in The Batman And Big little liesbut this film makes her a director worthy of our eyes. She and ET Feigenbaum co-wrote this bold and outrageous satirical thriller starring I want to dance with someone Star Naomi Ackie as a waitress drawn into the world of money is not a one percent object played, against the grain, by Channing Tatum. This is Kravitz’s assured and confident debut behind the camera, proving that she has a strong visual sense and more than a little something to say.

FLASH TWICE:Stream it or ignore it?

The bottom line: We meet Frida (Ackie) as she sits on the toilet and scrolls on her phone. Note to filmmakers everywhere: this specific scenario allows you to make your protagonist relatively human, from the start. But don’t worry, we’ll be with her every step of the way. Frida seems to aspire to become a fancy manicurist who paints tiny little animals on nails, but reality dictates that she works for a catering company, serving food to rich people. One of the faces she lingers on during her toilet scrolling is Slater King (Tatum), a baguillionaire tech CEO who was #MeToo’d (for reasons that aren’t made clear) and who resigned during a moment and returned to the audience. life to apologize over and over and try to sound more human by saying he has chickens now. Chickens! Sure, they’re on the private island he bought. But the chickens! How can you be down to earth get?

Well, Slater is at the event where Frida and her best friend/roommate Jess (Alia Shawkat) are pouring champagne and, per their supervisor’s instructions, are “invisible.” The ladies finish their shift and pull out the evening outfits they’ve been hiding in their bags and make their way to the afterparty with a few nifty moves and more than a little charm. And you know, Slater seems like a gentle, respectful guy – a gentle, respectful guy who pays a lot of attention to Frida. Now here’s where the film threatens to become an explosion of celebrity cameos (which end up not being cameos at all, mind you): Christian Slater as a Polaroid photographer named Vic, Simon Rex as a chef named Cody, Adriana Arjona as Survivor. – Reality show celebrity Sarah, Kyle MacLachlan as Slater’s psychotherapist, Geena Davis as one of Slater’s handlers, Haley Joel Osment as I think wannabe crypto brother. The less famous are weedhead du jour Heather (Trew Mullen), skinny blond boy Lucas (Levon Hawke), and Camilla (Liz Caribel), who has just sold an astrology app she developed.

Who are all these people? Slater’s entourage of old and new friends. And he just asked Frida and Jess to join the exclusive after-party where everyone piles onto his private jet and flies to his island for an indefinite amount of time to drink and eat and do drugs and swim and lie down and wake up and wonder. why everything seems perfect and fun even when everything doesn’t seem quite right. I mean, Slater employs an omnipresent armed security guard at all times (I guess famous people need those guys?), the multiple rooms are filled with clothes for everyone because they’re all gone on a whim and didn’t pack anything (Frida and Jess reckon that’s what they say). down to the way extremely rich people do things) and the staff, none of whom speak English, always wear strange looks on their faces and the one woman is tasked with murdering the shit out of the venomous snakes that infest the estate (they’re just vipers! NBD!). Are these red flags? HELL YES THEY ARE.

What films will this remind you of? : Blink twice is a tantalizing, if sometimes uneven, mix of Glass onion, Middayeat rich things like Salt burn And Triangle of sadnessand films that mock the culinary palates of the wealthy The menu Or Gourmet Feed. And it’s in the same spirit as recent art genre pieces presenting a female perspective. Love lies, bleeding And The bottom. To go out is an obvious influence here too.

Performances to watch: The cast is FlashThe strength of: It’s a lot of fun watching Tatum play with his character playing a “nice guy” with sinister bangs. But Ackie carries this film with all his might, truly demonstrating his talent and appeal in a project that didn’t squander his talent like I want to dance with someone did. And she shares a number of funny and gently electrifying scenes with Arjona, a stunning talent who was simply brilliant in Andor and above all Hitman. Oh, and if there was an award category for best comeback by a veteran actress in a supporting role, it would go to Davis for her brief but hilarious turn here as Ghislaine Maxwell (the lead role award would go to to Demi Moore for The bottomOf course).

Memorable dialogues: Sarah has a bad feeling about this: “I’m having a good time here. But I also have the feeling that I am not.

Sex and skin: Nothing sexy about the moments of slightly more than implied sexual assault, so consider yourself warned (the film opens with a trigger warning title card).

Our opinion: You won’t be at all surprised that the rich white men in this movie are horrible human beings who could have inspired a title change to Gaslight Island (Kravitz’s original title was Pussy Islandbut this was canceled for obvious reasons). So you could ring Blink twice for its somewhat predictable plot and bold, hard-hitting approach to feminist revenge themes, but I would argue that such a lack of subtlety appears when the one with something to say is angry at hierarchical and sexual power. dynamic and wants to go wild. This film is not a convincing attempt – it is a struggle. You FEEL that punch in the nose, and you might come away from this movie a little bloody. And that’s precisely the point.

Kravitz’s heightened sensitivity sells the film as a breathtaking satire. It winks at us with a fun, far-fetched and slightly absurd premise (why would Frida and Jess drop everything to jet off anywhere with a bunch of strangers? They’re in love with the life of the ultra-rich and want to taste it, don’t you too, at least a little?). She uses precise camerawork, direction and editing to amplify the comedy and horror. And she brings together a chemically potent ensemble that’s up for anything – borderline ridiculous riffs on stereotypes, dark comedy, eye-widening brutality.

The first part of the film feels like a slightly overlong tease, but once Ackie and Arjona’s characters connect about halfway through, it finds its place as a comically gruesome tale. Some moments are hysterically funny and others grotesque, terribly searing. Kravitz’s most consistent thread is a sense of righteousness that isn’t always 100% serious, but is serious when it absolutely matters.

Our call: Blink twice It may be a little uneven, but it’s not easily forgotten. More Kravitz behind the camera please. Spread it.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.