Blink Twice (2024)

A year and a half ago, my book club opted to read The Thursday Murder Club, a mystery novel by Richard Osman about a group of retirees who dedicate their free time to solving cold cases. When someone dies in their own neighborhood, the puzzles become personal. I admit I didn’t particularly enjoy the book—the weight of cozy mystery to actual clues to solve wasn’t balanced enough for me to fully invest. However, when I saw that Netflix released a movie adaptation starring Helen Mirren, I jumped at the opportunity to watch.

The story starts when Joyce (Celia Imrie) moves into a retirement home and meets the members of the Thursday Murder Club, Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), and Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley). Her arrival coincides with the news that the owners of Cooper’s Chase are planning on selling the entire community and kicking everyone out. The residents are irate, of course. The drama escalates when the only man with the power to stop the sale ends up murdered. From there, the Thursday Murder Club partners with police officer Donna (Naomi Ackie) to help solve the mystery.

Everyone wants to create their magnum opus, the work that will last long after they themselves have faded from memory. In the psychological thriller Opus, that desire is explored both from the perspective of a person who has already achieved stardom, and someone who has yet to achieve anything at all.

At the start of Opus, music journalist Ariel Ecton—played by Ayo Edibiri—is completely average. Her friend goes so far as to call her “middling”, pointing out that she grew up middle class, has an average level of talent, and never had anything interesting happen to her. It makes the general conceit of these types of movies clear: the main character is normal, a vessel for the audience to relate to.

When famous musician Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) decides to revive his career with the release of a new album, Ariel’s world is forever changed. Moretti invites six journalists for a sneak preview at his home: Ariel, her boss Stan (Murray Bartlett), a TV gossip, an influencer, a paparazzo, and a man who publicly feuded with the singer in the past. The six embark on an hours-long journey, first by plane and then by bus, to a compound in the middle of the desert. There, people in blue call themselves the “Levelists”.

It is, of course, a cult. While the rest of Moretti’s guests are far more interested in the music, Ariel takes it upon herself to find out all she can about the Levelists. Although their ultimate goal remains unclear even at the end of the film, the Levelists believe that people need to use their right brain as opposed to their left brain and work to make creative masterpieces in order to become gods.