Por Hanna Rantala
LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Zoe Kravitz says her directorial debut, the film “Blink Twice”, which she also co-wrote and produced, is a story about the power dynamics between men and women that was born out of her own experiences.
In the psychological thriller, waitress Frida, played by Naomi Ackie, and her friend think they’ve hit the jackpot when tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) invites them to his private tropical island.
Frida embarks on a lavish vacation with Slater’s friends, partying nonstop, but soon the waitress begins to notice something is amiss. As she digs deeper, Frida uncovers chilling truths beneath the perfect veneer of destiny, and the vacation turns into a battle for survival.
“It literally came out of my experience. It’s very personal,” Kravitz, 35, said at the film’s London premiere on Monday. “It was really an expression of what I think a lot of women living in the world feel,” she said of the writing process.
“I felt like there are so many things that women have to do or are expected to do that have been so normalized that we don’t even talk about them. So I wanted to find a way to explore the complexity and absurdity of it all,” Kravitz explained.
Kravitz and Tatum, who got engaged last year, were brought together by the film. Tatum didn’t know Kravitz when she offered him the role of Slater.
“This movie has changed my life completely,” said Tatum, who also produced the film, adding that the role was unlike anything he had done in his nearly two-decade career.
“I’ve usually always had some kind of connection, I bring some personal aspect of my life to the character I play. This movie is not that. It’s the first thing I’ve done that’s so far removed from me or anyone I know,” he said.
The film’s cast also includes actors Adria Arjona, Christian Slater, Geena Davis, Kyle MacLachlan and Haley Joel Osment.
“Blink Twice” will be released in theaters worldwide on August 21.
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; Editing by Hector Espinoza)
