Inside the SUV: Hopkins’ Mind Games Torture Skarsgård in ‘Locked’

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You’re asking for a rephrase of a sentence describing a movie plot, right? Here it is: What happens when you trap a young criminal inside a luxury sports utility vehicle rigged to retaliate against an intruder, devised by a wealthy and vindictive owner with a twisted, malicious mind? If the actors portraying these characters are Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins, and the director is David Yarovesky, you’re in for a thrilling, nerve-wracking journey filled with claustrophobic tension, sudden shocks, and mounting peril that intensifies with each passing scene – all contained within the boundaries of an SUV.

When Yarovesky received the script for “Locked,” set to premiere in cinemas on March 21, he was instantly drawn to the intriguing narrative and the escalating tension for the characters. Additionally, the confined setting of the story presented an enticing creative and technical hurdle that he found hard to resist. Yarovesky expresses, “I hadn’t made a film quite like this before. It felt like a realm that needed something authentic and intensely suspenseful.

Skarsgård’s Eddie’s situation is far from relaxed when he finds himself unable to open the car door, a predicament that leaves him feeling disoriented. From this moment, viewers find themselves sharing his sense of entrapment. As the movie unfolds and the soundproof, indestructible walls of the vehicle close in more tightly around Eddie, the film’s tension escalates, mirroring the growing psychosis of Hopkins’ character William. Using the self-same vehicle as a tool for psychological torment, William effectively captures his victim. With only two main characters, one of whom remains largely unseen, and a confined space as the sole setting for the story, Yarovesky faced a challenging task.

As William initiates conversation with Billy via the car’s onboard computer, it quickly becomes evident that William is not of sound mind. This triggers a tense power struggle within the vehicle, a conflict that is effectively portrayed through the filming techniques.

Director Yarovesky chuckles as he recounts the intense difficulty in creating this film. With only 19 days to shoot it, numerous obstacles were placed before him. As an independent production, resources were limited and he couldn’t rely on a big studio for financial support, which added to the challenges. Additionally, films set within confined spaces like this one often face the issue of the restricted environment hampering cinematic shots. However, determination and resourcefulness prevailed. With Michael Dallatorre as the Director of Photography and Dan Sasaki at Panavision lending their expertise, a touch of magic was brought to life.

In simpler terms, Yarovesky mentions that Dan crafted special lenses specifically for the project. Regular anamorphic lenses can’t focus closely enough for use in a car with another person, so Dan utilized the widest anamorphic lens available and manipulated other lenses to reduce the minimum focusing distance to just a few inches. During the production of “Dunkirk” under Christopher Nolan, Sasaki conceived a lens with a bendable joint, but couldn’t realize it at that time – until “Locked,” he finally got the chance to make this unique design a reality.

As a devoted admirer, I found myself in a similar predicament as production designer Grant Armstrong when working on the 2014 sci-fi masterpiece “Gravity”. For our part, we had to contend with shooting in compact, pod-like environments. To accomplish this on ‘Gravity’, they constructed it on a platform and in modular sections on rails, making it effortless – with one arm, you could move a quarter of the set aside and bring it back just as easily. Inspired by this approach, we began discussing the possibility of replicating it for our interior set. This would grant us unparalleled freedom, allowing us to go wherever we wanted, unrestricted in our movement.

At first glance, “Locked” appears to be a typical vigilante movie, with themes like ‘actions have consequences’ and ‘crime doesn’t pay’. However, director Yarovesky suggests that there’s a more profound commentary hidden beneath – one that delves significantly into the topics of law and order.

Today, politics seem to permeate every corner of our lives. In 2025, creating a character without knowing their political views and opinions seems nearly impossible, which is quite concerning. However, this isn’t a film with a political agenda. As a director, my aim was to remain impartial in the political spectrum. I allowed the characters to engage in a heated debate, presenting their arguments and counterpoints, without favoring either side. This way, the story I’m telling you is more about morality than politics.

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2025-03-22 22:47