Locked in (2022) Film Review
Even though indie films are made following a very specific framework and they don’t follow the same rules as all films (and certainly not the rules of big studios), this doesn’t mean they’re automatically “allowed” to fall under the category of flawed films. They can have mistakes on them, and their characters can also be dumb. As long as the audience isn’t ridiculed and treated as stupid, anything is allowed.
I say this while reviewing Locked In because even if it seems the film has deliberate mistakes (and terrible decisions), you can’t accuse the film of being dumb, absurd, or even bad. This is a heist film where things take a wrong turn, and bad guys are way more evil than you think. At the center, a flawed mother trying to be just in the middle of chaos. Questioning where the film goes in its second act, and how everything gets solved in the third, is asking questions that shouldn’t be asked. Creative freedom sometimes makes you do wonderful things, and sometimes you stick to the ground rules with which a solid small film gets delivered.
In Locked In, we meet Maggie, a mother who has to make ends meet after her husband is imprisoned and she has to take the reins of the family. She works at a storage space center and with her daughter she’s living in a motel on the very bad side of town. When her daughter buys her a present she scolds her because they can’t afford it. She’s very religious and everything she does must follow the laws of God.
When Maggie’s coworker gets into a shady business deal and Maggie catches him, she has an opportunity to get hold of some cash. Contrary to what she’s used to, she decides to go for it. But that same night, thieves on the run arrive at the center Maggie works in. Just when she regrets making easy money she becomes part of their scheme which implies recovering diamonds Maggie’s coworker hid somewhere. One wild night.
Locked In isn’t your average heist film. It’s a film carried on Mena Suvari’s shoulders from start to finish, as she now has to become the mother of a rebellious teenager and survive the wrath of a pair of thieves who will stop at nothing. Suvari’s very sharp and grounded performance makes the dramatic element of the film bigger than expected. When it aims to be an action film, it suddenly stops to be more of a dramatic thriller. Jeff Fahey projects counterbalance as the antagonist who pays no mind to rules and tries anything to get ahold of the diamonds. Theirs are the film’s best performances.
And yes, Locked In is curiously a film where performances do more than expected. Even if you think characters do what they aren’t supposed to do, you just believe in what they’re doing. The moral compass of the film is deviated enough to make for a volatile third act when anything can happen, and it does happen. Twists arrive and Locked In becomes a decent thriller centered around a character impossible to not care about. Call it a good script, a good performer or a focused director. I prefer to call it a mix of good ingredients.
