What is a crime? Who do you call a criminal? As you watch Nicolas Harvard’s “The Locksmith,” these questions keep circling back. The film wonderfully depicts the weird tale of passion and crime. The story revolves around a talented locksmith, Miller Graham (Ryan Phillippe), and how he falls prey to the ill intentions of a powerful detective, Ian Zwick (JeffreyNordling), who exploits Miller for his financial needs. Miller and his friend Kevin (George Akram) were instructed to loot money from a chest. In the unfortunate turn of events, Kevin gets killed (rather, murdered) by Zwick himself, and Miller is caught with a bag full of cash and is imprisoned. Miller had to serve in prison for ten years; however, he gets out early for good behavior. His former employee and friend Frank (Ving Rhames) gives him a job as a handyman. When Miller was imprisoned, his girlfriend was pregnant with his daughter. Miller tries to reconcile his relationship with them as soon as as he is out of prison. However, once you deal with the devil, there is no way out. Zwick finds a way to meddle in Miller’s life once again. Like a moth drawn to flames, Miller again finds himself in the trap. But this time, Zwick fails to win.
The film revolves around a good cop and a bad cop. It also showcases how people with money and power often think they can run the world. We also see shades of human behavior and how the goodness of heart ultimately results in the greater good. Here is everything you need to know about the characters of “The Locksmith.”
Spoilers Ahead
Ryan Phillippe As Miller Graham
Besides being a great locksmith, Miller is a man with a good heart. He wants to make things right and perfect for those he loves. His purity of intention to save those he cares about often puts him in dangerous situations. At the beginning of the film, when you are introduced to Miller, he seems to be a thief. However, as we study the character further, we understand the reason he decided to steal. He wanted to help his girlfriend and their child, and he needed the money. When he was accused of stealing and caught by none other than the person who had set him up for the work and threatened to harm his family, Miller decided to remain quiet. Miller came to steal with his best friend, Kevin. Kevin gets killed during this facade of operation. Miller, however, was in greater pain and had no other option but to gulp down all his feelings and remain silent.
Once he is out of prison, Miller decides to set everything straight and not jeopardize it further. He wanted to reconcile his relationship with his partner and daughter and be a part of their lives again. Fate had other plans.
While he was on a call to fix locks for a client, he learned that April (Gabriela Quezada), Kevin’s sister, had recommended him to the client he was working for. April had Kevin as his family, and once he died, she was taken care of by the foster homes. Miller feels responsible for April and tries to reconnect with her. April asks him to help her combat the impossible situation she is in. Of course, it was another illegal activity that Miller, although initially denied, but finally gave in, witnessing the hell April’s life was. At the same time, Zwich and two of his new detectives tried to harm Miller. In between all these messes, Miller finds out quality time with his daughter and strengthens his relationship with her.
Miller, at times, seems very naive, he undoubtedly has a good heart, and he cares for people. But in order to help April, he puts his life and his freedom at stake. Not just that, when he discovered Zwich was involved, he still wanted to set things right on his own instead of coming clean to his partner, who is also a detective. This puts his daughter in peril as well. In a bullet fight, his daughter, who was close to Frank, saw him die. Furthermore, she was taken as leverage to blackmail Miller and Beth (his partner) to hand over the money Miller had stolen for April’s safety. Although, at the very end, things work out in favor of Miller, we can conclude that Miller is a man of emotions, and his emotions often triumph over his logic.
Jeffrey Nordling As Ian Zwich
A terrible detective who rose to the position of lieutenant by falsely charging Miller and killing his best friend, Kevin. A power monger who is not ashamed to hurt and affect anyone in his way towards a life of luxury and comfort. He is the one who prevents the law from catching an influential real estate owner who was involved in girl trafficking. Zwich knew that people who had lesser power than him were pawns in his game, and he could kill them whenever needed. However, he failed to understand that there are people, especially cops, who want to prevent the wrongs in society. Beth (Kate Bosworth), Miller’s partner and also a detective, is one such public servant. So, it was a wrong move on Zwich’s part to assign her the role of Vice while he was retiring. Beth, being a kind-hearted person and one who grew up in the town, was trusted by most. Thus, she got intel about Zwich’s true nature of work, which made Zwich vulnerable. Zwich lied to April (Kevin’s sister) about her brother’s death, thinking she would grow up hating Miller and would want him dead or, worse, trap him into a crime that would put him away for good. Zwich is a form of the devil disguised as a man. He has no virtue and no heart. He is a self-centered man with no good intentions about anyone else but himself. Zwich was shot dead by April, but you might feel he needed a slow death where he would have been tortured by discomfort.
Kate Bosworth As Beth
From being a single mother to a cop, Beth is a woman of spirits. She sees people for who they are. She knows that her partner is a felon, yet decides that their daughter must spend time with her father. She knew somewhere Miller was put behind bars for something that had a greater purpose than just stealing. Also, she balances her jobs and raises her daughter. She is loved by all as a woman. Tanya (Kaylee Bryant) comes up to her and shares secrets about her employer, Garrett Field (Charlie Weber), and Zwich. Beth is a wonderful cop and a fierce mother. While rescuing her daughter from the chains of Zwich and his gang, she single-handedly takes down a man with neat shots. Finally, she comes to help Miller, rescuing her daughter. Kate is the epitome of a lioness saving her pride.
Gabriela Quezada As April
April lost her only family, her brother Kevin, who was dragged into the mess by Miller. Although Miller did not know anything like that would happen, April could not forgive Miller. She had a troubled childhood and finally started working as an escort. She was physically abused and tortured. She wanted an escape. When she learned that Miller was out on parole, she knew Miller owed her. She set him up for a difficult task that would either have killed Miller or put him behind bars forever. April thought she was avenging her brother’s death and was going to start afresh. Her plans start falling apart as soon as Zwich’s true identity was revealed to the precinct head by Beth. But, deeper down, April was a victim of ill fate and was not of a criminal mind. When Zwich captivates Miller’s daughter, she sends the address to Miller so that the young girl can be saved. Finally, she killed Zwich and confessed she never believed a single word he had uttered. She held her gun at Miller, and it is when we understand the pain that she carried around all these years for the loss of her brother.
The film over and over points out that there are people who fall victim to a situation and choose criminal activities as their way out. However, there is a more sophisticated devil who has a passion for crime and gets away. The characters of the film seem straight out of everyday life. We see or know such characters. The film is an interesting watch, and the entangled characters make it worth watching.
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