Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice invites its characters to a vibrant paradise that gets dropped into hell. From the first trailer to cast interviews, Channing Tatum’s disturbing against-type performance as Slater King has made for a major talking point, along with the added context that he was directed by Kravitz, who also happens to be his fiancée. While viewers will likely be shocked at seeing him in his darkest role yet, even fans of Tatum may shift their focus to an actress who is one of the film’s best surprises.
Adria Arjona has recently been landing bigger projects in her acting career, from Andor and Hit Man to her role in Blink Twice, which is more than worthy of being praised, along with Tatum’s charming monster and the emotional ride that leading actress, Naomi Ackie, goes on. Among the mysteries of Kravitz’s film, one that keeps viewers guessing is who can be trusted when the sunny and tropical vibes sink away to unearth a demented and vile agenda. Arjona’s character becomes an unexpected ally for Ackie, as their characters try to survive the dark secrets of Slater King’s island.
The Paradise in ‘Blink Twice’ Is a Dangerous Lie
Like the best psychological thrillers out there, Blink Twice will make you feel worried for the characters’ safety. Frida (Ackie) and Jess (Alia Shawkat) are best friends and cocktail waitresses at the event space for billionaire Slater King (Tatum), and both of their lives change when Frida gets Slater’s attention. On a whim, he invites them to join him on his private island along with his male friends and their dates, and they accept, being whisked away on a carefree, wealthy adventure. But Jess is suddenly gone without a trace one day, with no one remembering her except for Frida, and this disappearance shifts the mood on the island.
The ugly truth behind the island is the women who have arrived with Slater’s male friends aren’t their dates. The women have been lured there to be sexually assaulted by the men every night; then a special perfume gifted to them induces memory loss, which is successful until Frida discovers the antidote. The real star of Blink Twice is Adria Arjona, who seems to be Frida’s romantic rival at first.
Who Does Adria Arjona Play in ‘Blink Twice’?
Early on, Sarah is presented as self-centered and jealous, someone most people wouldn’t want to spend time with. At the event space where Slater introduces Frida to the people he knows, Sarah barely greets her, eager to capture Slater’s attention all for herself. It’s, however, a losing battle. She doesn’t cover up her irritated feelings at being stuck with Slater’s friend, Cody (Simon Rex). As far as first impressions go, Sarah’s entitled personality and her treatment of Frida as an outsider make viewers see her as an adversary. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Arjona explained there couldn’t be any mistake about how unpleasant her character seemed, “I remember Zoë was like, ‘Adria, you’ve got to be bitchier.’ And I was like, ‘That’s as bitchy as I get!’ And she was like, ‘You’ve got to go bitchier.’”
Sarah is soon revealed to be a former contestant on the fictional TV series Hot Survivor Babes, and that background tidbit seems to be added to describe Sarah’s competitiveness. Not only is she beautiful, but she has the incredible stealth ability to climb a palm tree to get a coconut and slice it open to drink the juice, which she effortlessly demonstrates in front of Slater to one-up Frida. In turn, Frida swallows down her champagne out of defeat, only to choke on a raspberry at the bottom of her glass. First impressions are misleading in Blink Twice though, and there is more to Sarah than meets the eye.
Sarah Turns Against Channing Tatum’s Slater King
There are two sides to everything on this island, from the daytime vacation bliss, to the sadistic, nighttime rape rituals. Jess disappeared because the men killed her after her memory returned thanks to getting the antidote from an accidental snake bite. Once Frida drinks a bottle of snake venom, unaware of its effects, she begins to panic as her memories slowly return. Of the nearby women, Sarah notices the worry on Frida’s face. Being on Hot Survivor Babes didn’t only make her competitive, but she became adaptable to her surroundings, and readjusts her motives, forgetting her petty, one-sided rivalry. In a scene where they are alone together, Sarah believes Frida’s concerns, effectively turning her into the only person Frida and the viewers can trust.
Tight close-ups are on both actresses as they attempt to get on the same page with each other. Talking to Collider, Ackie said what was onscreen wasn’t the original idea for the scene, “It was very serious and it didn’t have that tone, that switch-up halfway through.” One indicator to Sarah that something wasn’t right on the island is a bruise on her shoulder which the guys claimed she got from falling out of a tree while drunk. Sarah mocks that, “I didn’t last eight seasons on Hot Survivor Babes because I fell.” The “switch-up” to this scene works so well because it instantly lets viewers catch their breath from the rising tension as the women can’t believe that, between the “man vs. bear,” they chose a campground of men.
No time is wasted on leaving Frida as the solo character who realizes there is danger. Arjona portrays the confusion and hesitation within Sarah, who inches closer to fully accepting the horrific circumstances she’s in until she willingly gulps down the foul-tasting snake venom to activate the antidote on herself. Blink Twice can be very funny at times, figuring out a way to blend the two extremes of the story for a thriller-comedy mashup. Adria Arjona is more than up for the task, too. Her comedic timing was a highlight in Hit Man, during the back-and-forth with Glen Powell in the Notes app scene to how she revealed in the Hollywood Reporter interview mentioned earlier that she improvised a memorable line as a joke during rehearsal. It’s impressive to watch how the actress balances the comedy and thriller elements in one scene in particular.
Adria Arjona Gets To Be a Badass in Zoë Kravitz’s ‘Blink Twice’
If Hit Man showed Arjona’s comedic timing, Andor let her deliver her dramatic chops. For one of the darkest moments in Star Wars, Bix Caleen, ally to Diego Luna’s titular hero, is apprehended by the Empire and undergoes a hideous form of audio torture where she is forced to listen to the suffering of an alien massacre, with special attention put on the children of the species. Arjona’s character in the Star Wars prequel series is last seen suffering from a damaged mental state from the torture, providing a further incentive to anticipate the new season of Andor and see what is next for Bix following her devastating story arc in Season 1.
Because of this, it’s satisfying to watch Blink Twice let Adria Arjona raise some hell when a bloodied and totally pissed-off Sarah kills several of the men at the end. She saves Frida’s life by crushing a bodyguard’s skull with a rock, and performs a spin kick into Cody, after thrusting a corkscrew into his hand, and before she puts a bullet into him. Frida gets her personal revenge on Slater too, but one of the best choices Kravitz and screenwriter E.T. Feigenbaum made was to subvert the dynamic that is first shown between Frida and Sarah. The fierce ally Sarah turns into is just as surprising as the other wild plot twists, and it should excite those who are already fans of Adria Arjona, while having new ones take notice.
Blink Twice is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
Rent on Prime Video
