Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor are fantastic together.
Thanks to the convenience of videoconferencing, Locked Down is an ensemble full of talent (I purposely kept some names out of this review to keep surprises in mind) but it really is the Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor show, and they both carry the day. Linda and Paxton are not easy to play characters as their fear, self-hatred, and mutual hostility in the wrong hands could be sincerely gross, but the actors’ incredible charisma and perfect timing in their jokes instead make them both engaging and even even sensitive. As the film progresses, you get to know them in all sorts of dynamics – alone, on each other’s throats, remembering the good times and working as a team – and at every step of the way, appreciating what is unique and what is absolute is real about her at a very strange moment in all of our lives.