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We had the trailer for Locked up a little while ago, and it looked interesting. I’ve said it before, but I’m always fascinated by movies with very little cast. Locked is one of them.
The movie basically stars Bill Skarsgard and Anthony Hopkins. The story is:
A thief breaking into a luxury SUV realizes that he has slipped into a sophisticated game of psychological horror.
If you saw the trailer, you will know what it’s about; if not, I’m not going to break down the story that much.
We meet Eddie (Skarsgard), a loser with no prospects. He’s a small-time criminal, taking the occasional wallet or such when he can. He has a kid, but can never be the father he wants to be, he just can’t afford it.
While trying to get his van back on the road, he ends up checking the handles on random cars. He finds an SUV and someone forgot to lock it, happy days for Eddie. He gets in and sees what he can steal.
It’s when he tries to leave that the problems start; the doors are locked, and he’s trapped inside. The windows are all reinforced, it seems to be covered in body armour (which means no phone signal) and the phone starts to ring.
Reluctantly, Eddie answers the call, and we hear William (Hopkins) tell Eddie that he’s trapped and going to pay for trying to steal the car. William has rigged the car with electric shock seats and cameras, and Eddie is at his mercy.
The rest of the movie is with Eddie locked in the car, with William psychologically torturing him.
Just the Two of Us
I like movies like Locked, without any over-complex stories, no sub-characters or sidekicks, it’s just Eddie and William pitted against each other.
It was strange to see Skarsgard in such a ‘normal’ role. Some of his best-known roles are as Pennywise the Clown in It Chapter 1 and 2, Count Orlok in Nosferatu and Eric in The Crow. Two of which are in heavy makeup, and you could barely recognise him.
He has to carry Locked on his shoulders, and he does. He is a damn good actor and here he really shows it. Eddie goes from loveable scamp to terrified to losing all hope, sometimes in one monologue.
At times, you are really feeling for Eddie and the situation he’s in. A few moments later, you are almost on the side of William, who’s torturing him.
Hopkins is Hopkins, the man is a legend. He reverts back to his original Welsh accent for this, which somehow makes him even more psychotic. He’s cool, calm and collected because he is in control of the entire situation.
The two of them are both excellent in this and play each other well. I found my allegiances would swap from one character to the other, as the script played out.
Moral Objections
I don’t want to go too deeply into the story of Locked, but the script is one that will sit with me for a while. The third act does slow down a little, but in the end, I wasn’t sure who I was rooting for.
Yes, Eddie is a criminal, and if he had stolen my wallet, I probably wouldn’t have been so forgiving of him. But does that give William the right to lock him in a car and try to push him towards suicide?
Locked asks if anyone is really deserving of ultimate justice. It comes back to the question: Is it OK to steal a loaf of bread to feed your family? On the one hand, stealing is stealing, but on the other hand, is it society that pushes someone into that situation?
I wouldn’t say that Locked has all the answers, and ultimately, doesn’t give you the answers by the end, but it certainly gets you thinking.
Overall
Locked is a very clever thriller, and I was invested all the way through. It was difficult to say who was the ‘good guy’ and who was the ‘bad guy’, as you sympathise with both of the main characters.
Eddie isn’t a bad guy, he’s just in a bad situation and never had the breaks. However, does that give William the right to torture him to the point of death?
I found Locked to be an interesting movie, one I will return to, but the second time, notice the small details of the script. It’s one that will spark debate over the details of right and wrong. It made a refreshing change.
Side Note: It was strange how there is a movie about a man, in a car, driving somewhere and just on the phone. It starred Tom Hardy and was called Locke.
Side Note II: The SUV is made by a company called Dolus. In classical mythology, Dolus refers to a ‘trick or false statement’. If only Eddie had known a little Latin, it would have saved him a lot of trouble.
Locked is on VoD, and I’m giving it a solid 3.5 out of 5.
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