Thriller ‘Blink Twice’ Marks a Breakthrough for Channing Tatum

“Blink Twice” is many things: a bracing debut feature, already a source of debate fodder — and, undebatably, the career assignment that Channing Tatum really, really needed.

He’s an unusual sort of star. Tatum has learned to command the screen when cast in the right role, maneuvering around his technical limitations, primarily his voice. But after the strained, overblown romantic comedy “Fly Me to the Moon,” where he struggled to get through rapid-fire banter without gasping for air, his performance in “Blink Twice” is astonishing.

Is it because he’s playing a bad guy? No spoiler there; it’s evident in the movie’s trailers. Antagonistic roles can liberate actors or at least diversify their diet of solemn or sardonic good-guy parts. However, many actors consider villainy as carte blanche to go overboard.

Not here. Tatum’s portrayal in “Blink Twice” matches the film’s nature: crafty, rich, strange, and, even when it falters a bit, destabilizing in ways that promise a less-than-stellar audience exit poll CinemaScore on opening weekend. More interestingly, it’s a striking directorial debut for co-writer Zoë Kravitz.

It’s also one of the few recent American thrillers with substance and the skill to tap into something within an organically realized nightmare scenario.

Tatum’s character, clouded by a recent, vaguely defined scandal, begins the story in apology and image-repair mode, redirecting some of his wealth to philanthropic galas and good causes.

He’s also acquired a small private island, seemingly in the Caribbean. There, he spends time with close friends, indulging in photogenic meals and pricey wines that could tilt the stock market. While he still dabbles in drugs, it’s now done “with intention,” as Slater King tells one of his guests.

The guest is a newbie, a knockout, and amazed by her luck. She’s the true star of “Blink Twice”: Naomi Ackie, the excellent English actress, playing Frida, a somewhat directionless Los Angeles cocktail waitress who works for a catering firm with her roommate, portrayed by the invaluable supporting actress Alia Shawkat.

At a gala honoring King, the ladies decide to crash the event they’re supposed to be working at, and it works. King invites them to join his entourage on the island trip.

The screenplay by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum pretends to be a straightforward narrative, but something is amiss, playing with Frida’s senses and her perception of time.

Is it something in the food? In the flowers picked from the nearby jungle by the local staff? The male guests, played by Christian Slater and Haley Joel Osment, fluctuate between convivial and sinister, while the women, led by the terrific Adria Arjona, get high, get drunk, and run around like they’re being chased by wolves.

Where this scenario heads next has its rewards and a few drawbacks. “Blink Twice” ends on a gratifyingly bloody note, and with near-miraculous skill, director Kravitz manages some tonal shifts beautifully. This is thanks to the razor-sharp editing by Kathryn J. Schubert and the surprising sound design by Jon Flores, which blends nicely with Chanda Dancy’s score. The film’s visual design, heavy on blood reds and geometric shots of the paradise corner, feels like a single, fully expressed idea. If the resolution of “Blink Twice” doesn’t satisfy everyone, so be it.

Even if you anticipate the plot or resist the daring tonal shifts, “Blink Twice” signifies a remarkable directorial debut. As an actor (not appearing on screen here), Kravitz is so natural that her performances rarely seem overtly planned or determined. Her film is a different matter: a precisely visual telling of a tale heading toward something awful yet also cathartic. And as the dead-eyed schemer hiding behind a gentle facade, Tatum has rarely seemed more alive and engaged on screen.

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