‘Locked Down’ turns quarantine right into a romantic heist film for the Covid time capsule
Dwelling collectively in London, Ejiofor’s Paxton has simply been furloughed from his van-driving gig, whereas his companion Linda (Hathaway) is pressured to put off a few of her firm’s employees. That solely provides to the shared sense of malaise and discomfort, since Linda — first seen screaming right into a pillow — had been “planning to finish our factor” earlier than the lockdown stored them at the very least bodily collectively.
The stress within the relationship comes spewing out in a whole lot of rapid-fire dialogue, nearly like an Aaron Sorkin film, solely there’s not a lot room to stroll whereas speaking.
“I am not regular these days, I do know that,” Paxton admits, earlier than going out into the road to learn poetry, loudly, as a method of “entertaining our fellow inmates.”
The second half, although, takes a marked flip, as a possibility presents itself for the 2 to collaborate on absconding with a priceless (OK, extraordinarily priceless) piece of merchandise. The situation creates uncertainty about whether or not they’ll truly undergo with the scheme, if they’re going to get away with it, and whether or not sharing such an endeavor can restore the harm accomplished between them.
Alongside the best way, the pair chat with numerous buddies and colleagues performed by the likes of Ben Stiller, Ben Kingsley and Dule Hill, however that is largely a two-handed card sport.
As soon as once more, it is doable to admire the ingenuity — and on this case, the central performances — with out discovering the consequence notably satisfying. Seeing glamorous individuals participating in mundane, getting-under-each-other’s-skin bickering would not essentially make that a complete lot extra enjoyable.
“Locked Down” premieres Jan. 14 on HBO Max.
