In the world of crime capers and thrillers, the “one last job” narrative framework has been used enough that it’s less of a trope than its very own genre — films of all stripes can play in the fun house, so long as they find a way to keep it fresh or winsome. Nicolas Harvard’s directorial debut “The Locksmith,” though, mostly takes stock characters and narrative turns and throws them into its basket, unable to fill the rest in with much color or nuance.
The film’s only hope for a defining quality is an awkwardly forced one: the lock-picking abilities of its protagonist, Miller (Ryan Phillippe), serving as an avatar for the past he can’t outrun. After a break-in goes awry and leads to a corrupt cop killing his friend, Miller is framed for the murder and sent to prison for a decade. He comes out ready to make things right with his ex-girlfriend, Beth (Kate Bosworth) — who happens to work on the force alongside the corrupt cop — and his young daughter. But, soon enough, an old friend — naturally, the former lover of Miller’s dead comrade — pulls him into one more scheme that only entangles him in a larger web of crime.
Most of the movie is told with big, rudimentary handwriting and slathered in clichés. Its actors, including Ving Rhames — typecast as a gruff mentor but nevertheless an easy comfort — and a nostalgic pair of early-aughts stars in Phillippe and Bosworth, can’t do much with what they’ve been given. Bosworth is perhaps the only one who finds room for some subtlety in what amounts to a stilted, botched job.
The Locksmith
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 31 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.
