For those looking for a guilty pleasure, look no further than Locked In (2023), a British B-thriller that went straight to Netflix. A sleuthing nurse, a washed-up actress, a mysterious mansion, romance, and murder all play a role.
Starring Famke Janssen (How to Get Away with Murder) and Rose Williams (Reign), the film is Nour Wazzi’s directorial debut and boasts a surprisingly impressive cast. This isn’t great cinema, but because to its actors and gritty setting, it’s nonetheless fun to see.
First, we hear Locked In from Katherine’s (Janssen) terrifying perspective. She had been rendered mute and immobile after an accident. However, she is able to provide evidence that her wounds were the result of a murder attempt. Nicky, the nurse played by Anna Friel, is exceptionally committed to uncovering the truth about what happened to her patient.
Multiple flashbacks are used in the film to show what happened before Katherine was hurt. The two women share some history, and we meet Lina (Williams), her adopted daughter/daughter-in-law.
When Lina’s mother passed away, Katherine, a former actress, took her in right away. The loss of Katherine’s husband left her responsible for her ailing stepson Jamie (Finn Cole), who was to inherit their fortune. A degree of anger developed between the woman and the boy as a natural consequence.
At first, Lina looks up to Katherine, so she decides to care for Jamie herself and unwillingly accepts to marry Jamie.
Lina’s situation at the manor isn’t exactly ideal. Her mother-in-law despises her, and her husband uses his illness to keep her obedient to him. When Lina (Alexandra Stan) begins an affair with the family doctor, Robert (Alex Hassell), the dynamic of the household shifts.
The central enigma of the story is not whether or if Lina played a role in Katherine’s predicament, but rather the extent to which she did. Right away, we are made aware of the tense dynamics between the young woman and her mother-in-law. As for Lina’s true character, Rose Williams does a decent enough job of hiding it right up to the very end.
Most of the actors are believable, and Janssen in particular has a gift for making us feel what she’s feeling with only the look in her eyes. Friel is likewise charming as the investigating nurse, but her character seems to have little purpose other than to provide background information.
The question is whether or not Locked In deserves to be watched online.
Overall, the story is just your standard formulaic thriller. Many parts of the story also don’t make as much sense as they should and there are plenty of plot holes. As one example, despite the film’s repeated assertions that Lina and Katherine share a special affinity, we never see them acting civil toward one another.
Lina’s extramarital affair with the doctor is equally strange. In this regard, the actors’ lack of chemistry is problematic.
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