Blink is certainly not the first movie to be made about aimless twentysomethings trying to clutch at the fading embers of youth, but it does provide a reasonably good update of the subgenre for Generation Y.
Using the by-now-familiar technique of rotating among several interwoven story lines, Blink tells the story of seven (or is it nine?) young people who all happen to meet one night at the neighborhood bar. The characters themselves are mostly nothing we haven't seen before - the world-weary ladies' man showing his newb friend the ropes; the depressed guy who can't let go of his ex; the twenty-six-year-old who still wears double-layered shirts (full disclosure: so do I). Not much new here. But the one shining exception is the character of Toni, a female artist/bartender whose shoplifting and fighting conceals a poignantly lonely life. Marisa Brown is definitely the class act among Blink's cast.
Blink benefits from some surprisingly beautiful cinematography and a tres-hip indie-rock soundtrack. Where it falls short is the plot, which often feels more literary than cinematic. The understated emotion and lack of a recognizable climax leave us wishing for a few frogs to fall from the sky and shake things up. But Blink succeeds in its core mission, which is to take the lingering sad mood of the end of youth and repackage it for another generation.
As a final note, I can't help but regret that they didn't pick The Weakerthans' "Exiles Among You" for the theme of Toni the artist girl...but maybe I'm just getting too old and out of touch.
