“I forgot to remember to forget,” sang Elvis Presley in 1955, and it takes similar mental gymnastics to figure out what is actually happening – or did happen – in this sophisticated horror thriller with its many twists and turns. But while the film raises serious and fascinating questions about controversial issues and features a first-rate cast that couldn’t be better, Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut ends up leaving us pondering more moral conundrums than it can adequately answer in the format of a high-end genre film. The premise is very good and timely (think of a film with a woman in the lead role). Exit), but the script doesn’t quite follow suit and follows the well-trodden path of M. Night Shyamalan until its big reveal.
One of its plus points is the excellent casting of Naomi Ackie as Frida, a stoic but dispirited gig-economy hospitality worker (is there any other kind of job?) who spends her evenings scrolling through her phone and wondering how she’s going to pay the rent. Her despondency lifts somewhat when she learns that millionaire tech bro Slater King (Channing Tatum) will be attending one of her events, to the extent that she is warned not to be as open with the talent as she has been in the past. Frida isn’t fazed, despite seeing his Reels confession on Instagram apologizing for his “regrettable behavior.” What this actually meant is left to the viewer’s imagination, but we learn that King has decided to step down as CEO and spend time reflecting on what he did while doing penance on his private luxury island. “I have chickens,” he says as proof.
Frida has a soft spot for Slate, but she also seems to be a magnet for men with fragile egos, as her razor-sharp best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) tries to explain to her: “You’re not a human cell phone charger,” she snaps. “Have some self-respect.” Both women get all worked up in Slater King’s company, however, and things pick up speed when Frida snaps a high heel at him, catching his attention. There’s a sweet Cinderella moment, and suddenly the two are deep in conversation, even after the event is obviously over. King has to return to his island paradise, but at the last minute he turns around to ask Frida, “Do you want to come?”
This question is perhaps the essence of Flash twice; this spontaneous decision that can go in any direction. Broke and flattered, she Do want to leave, and their introduction to the high life – along with three other, similarly randomly chosen women to balance out King’s inner circle of men – is more than they could have imagined. Time stands still. Every day is a holiday, with endless pours of champagne, gourmet dinners and psychedelic drugs on tap. Jess is cautious. “Don’t you think that’s weird?” she wonders. “I don’t think it’s weird,” Frida says. “I think it’s …” rich.” But the novelty soon wears off, and when Jess disappears, Frida becomes aware of the danger she may have put herself in.
The not-so-subtle twist is that King hasn’t changed his “regrettable” behavior and has simply found a way to continue down the same path without caring. He rejects therapy outright, saying one shouldn’t dwell on trauma for too long. “Forgetting is a gift,” he says smugly, which is as much of a clue as any to what’s going on.
The film’s core idea is very strong, and it concerns not only the balance of power between men and women, but also the support structures that form between women as a direct result. It would be impossible to get any further into the plot without using the phrase “toxic masculinity,” which is a shame, because Kravitz’s film is really onto something until it drifts straight into familiar revenge territory. This is where the actors come in: Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Haley Joe Osment, and Kyle MacLachlan (in a glorified cameo) really convey the sense of false security, but no one does it better than Geena Davis, who, as King’s subservient personal assistant Stacy, perfectly plays the role of the invisible woman who knew what was happening all along but said nothing.
One thinks of the reign of a disgraced, now-imprisoned Hollywood producer or the clandestine sex trafficking world of the notorious Jeffrey Epstein, but merging these two modern-day villains is never going to go very far when casting Channing Tatum. It’s a bold role for him, and he’s certainly very convincing, but ironically Flash twice feels just as impressed by his presence as Frida does. The ending may be cathartic and could even be interpreted as empowering, but it is an excuse that Away less than it could have been.
Title: Flash twice
Director: Zoe Kravitz
Screenwriter: Zoë Kravitz, ET Feigenbaum
Pour: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slate, Alia Shawkat, Simon Rex, Geena Davis, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios / Warner Bros
Evaluation: R
Duration: 1 hour 43 minutes
