Review of Locked Down (2021) by Megomike — 20 Jan 2021

I expected a lot from this movie going into it, due to the subject matter of two humans trapped within their own frailties, together, during a lockdown we all have experienced for nearly a year now. Locked Down is a love story, one that is very palpable to many of us in this real life, with an adventurous twist I didn’t see coming.

Locked Down was written by Steven Knight (Serenity, Dirty Pretty Things), and directed by Doug Limon (American Made, Mr. And Mrs. Smith). It stars Oscar Winner Anne Hathaway as Linda, and Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor as Paxton, two very flawed, very real lovers at the end of their romantic cycle, yet imprisoned together still as a result of the COVID-19 virus lockdown.

These are very relatable characters, with relatable individual flaws, forced to stay together physically when emotionally the relationship has clearly run its course. There are so many profound, and funny, moments in this film.

Paxton chides a toilet paper hoarder by asking how many arses she has. Linda recollects her Grandma as a Calvinist. Hathaway delivers an amazing scene describing the reality of recovering smokers using the imagery of serpents coming through the floor.

And her explanation for why she didn’t tell him she was smoking again, that if she didn’t tell, it didn’t happen, is an amazing allegory for the lies and cover ups we tell ourselves when we fail.

I give Locked Down a 4.5 out of 5 for what it is. A love story. While it may not be the finest love story of our time, it is certainly the most authentic in its characters and delivery. I encourage anyone at the precipice of relationship we all find ourselves in eventually to treat themselves to what may happen, if we simply continue to love, and endure.