Rating: 8/10
**This article contains spoilers.**
“Locked,” an English-language remake of the Argentinian film “4×4,” brings audiences on a wild ride — trapped in an SUV.
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The film follows Eddie Barrish (Bill Skarsgård), a criminal who breaks into an unlocked SUV and finds himself trapped inside. With no cell service and bullet-proof, tinted windows, he is unable to escape. He eventually receives a call from William (Anthony Hopkins) through the SUV’s dashboard panel, who reveals himself as the car’s owner.
“Locked” uses cool, desaturated colors, layered lighting and tight framing. This forces audiences to feel trapped with Eddie, making the film an intimidating yet impressive experience.
Director David Yarovesky himself said that the movie was “insanely hard” to make. But with the help of Dan Sasaki, an optical engineer at Panavision, custom-built lenses aided the cinematography and overall production of the film.
Besides the extraordinary camera shots, Skarsgård’s realistic performance allows the audience to connect to his character despite him being a thief and an irresponsible father. His acting displays Eddie’s hopelessness, having to deal with hunger, taser-emitting seats and the inability to see his daughter Sarah (Ashley Cartwright).
While “Locked” may give the impression of a straightforward story, the film showcases the power dynamics between Eddie, a financially desperate father, and William, a wealthy doctor. The film effectively portrays William as a psychopath. He not only enjoys torturing Eddie, but he also blatantly views lower-class citizens as lowlifes.
The film had unexpected twists and turns, like when William turned the car into autopilot mode, running over a group of adults who attacked each other minutes earlier. Sequences of intense scenes stirred up feelings of suspense nearly every few minutes throughout the film.
In addition, the two characters’ heart-to-heart conversations towards the end revealed insight into their circumstances, motivations and similarities as fathers.
Although the story and mise-en-scène intensified the stressful and emotional journey, several parts of the dialogue included bland and filler-like lines. The time Eddie mentioned the novel “Crime and Punishment” and William quoted a verse from the Bible felt corny. When Eddie bashed William for his tormentous actions, stating that William’s daughter Emma would have never wanted him to do this, the story appeared, temporarily, like a cliche.
Along with fearful drives and sequences of painful agony, “Locked” brings loads of action despite Eddie staying locked in the SUV throughout the film.
