Living together in London, Ejiofor’s Paxton has just been furloughed through his van-driving gig, while his partner Linda (Hathaway) is usually forced to lay off some of her company’s workers. of which only adds to the shared sense of malaise in addition to also discomfort, since Linda — first seen screaming into a pillow — had been “planning to end our thing” before the lockdown kept them at least physically together.
The tension inside relationship comes spewing out in a lot of rapid-fire dialogue, almost like an Aaron Sorkin movie, only there’s not much room to walk while talking.
“I’m not normal lately, I know of which,” Paxton admits, before going out into the street to read poetry, loudly, as a means of “entertaining our fellow inmates.”
Like most shot-under-quarantine productions, the idea’s intriguing for about 30 minutes or so, thanks in part to the charismatic leads. For the next half-hour, most viewers — like their predicament — will probably have seen enough in addition to also just want to get out.
The second half, though, takes a marked turn, as an opportunity presents itself for the two to collaborate on absconding which has a priceless (OK, extremely valuable) piece of merchandise. The scenario creates uncertainty about whether they’ll actually go through with the scheme, if they’ll get away with the idea, in addition to also whether sharing such an endeavor can repair the damage done between them.
Along the way, the pair chat with various friends in addition to also co-workers played by the likes of Ben Stiller, Ben Kingsley in addition to also Dule Hill, however This particular is usually mostly a two-handed card game.
Once more, the idea’s possible to admire the ingenuity — in addition to also in This particular case, the central performances — without finding the result particularly satisfying. Seeing glamorous people engaging in mundane, getting-under-each-some other’s-skin bickering doesn’t necessarily make of which a whole lot more fun.
“Locked Down” premieres Jan. 14 on HBO Max.
