LOCKED DOWN

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film starts with Paxton (Chiwetel Ejiofor) doing a video call with his half-brother David (Dule Hill) and his wife Maria (Jazmyn Simon). He resides in London with his wife Linda (Anne Hathaway), and they are feeling anxious due to being in quarantine from COVID-19. Paxton vents about how he feels and how things with Linda have not been going great for a while. They had planned to break up right before the lockdown was enforced. Maria later has a private chat with Linda, who also expresses her frustrations with being stuck there with Paxton.

Paxton and Linda argue constantly, with Paxton finding annoyance in minor details like Christmas decorations. He takes to the streets to loudly read a poem of his choosing. While one neighbor yells at him, the others welcome the poem reading. Afterward, he catches a young couple rummaging through his garden, as they are collecting poppy bulbs to make opium. Although Paxton seems displeased at first, he opens up to the idea when the couple tells him that opium can help him sleep.

The next day, Linda meets with some work colleagues over Zoom. After a few minutes of chatter, Linda (who is the company’s CEO) unceremoniously tells them that they have all been laid off. Afterward, she speaks to her boss Solomon (Ben Stiller), who came up with the idea to fire everyone over the video chat. Meanwhile, Paxton talks to his boss Malcolm (Ben Kingsley). Since he was arrested ten years earlier, Paxton has had not much luck finding jobs besides working as a delivery driver. Malcolm tells him that since stores are closed, there aren’t many available drivers for high-end deliveries, so he offers Paxton a job to make runs under a fake name.

After another argument, Paxton goes to get groceries and argues with people waiting on line. When he gets home, he talks to Malcolm again and learns his new fake name – Edgar Allan Poe. Malcolm has apparently never heard of the famous poet, but Paxton knows it was done as a deliberate prank by a coworker he knows that dislikes him.

Linda has a Zoom meeting with Solomon and other higher-ups at the company. They tell her that she is tasked with clearing inventory at the Harrods department store in the area. She later chats with David and Maria, telling them that she bought back a beloved bike that Paxton sold for extra money since she thinks it can be the last bit of their relationship she can leave him with once they can finally separate. When Paxton comes back from his run, Linda tells him about her inventory job, which overlaps with his schedule and means he won’t get past a security checkpoint that Linda set up.

Linda later chats with the Harrods store manager, Michael (Stephen Merchant), and a former coworker, Kate (Mindy Kaling). Through the meeting, Linda learns about a diamond worth 3 million pounds, while the store keeps a duplicate. After having sex, Linda tells Paxton about a plan to swipe the real diamond with a duplicate and send the fake one to a buyer in New York City. They would pocket one million each and give the rest to National Health Services.

On the night of their plan, Linda and Paxton arrive separately. Paxton manages to make it through while Linda chats with an old friend, Charlotte (Lucy Boynton). The heist goes off fine after Paxton makes the replacement, but as they try to leave, they are stopped by security guard Donald (Mark Gatiss), who was fired by Linda a while ago. He tells them that he called the police, but after Linda and Paxton explain themselves, he lets them go. They ride back together on the bike.

Sometime later, it is revealed that London is on lockdown for another two weeks. Linda and Paxton are less bothered by this now that it appears that they have begun to rekindle their relationship. He then goes outside to read a poem to the neighborhood again.

Linda and Paxton are a married couple who have been planning to split up, but unfortunately, they are stuck together in London lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Paxton can only work as a delivery driver due to a criminal record, while Linda is the CEO of a fashion company. She learns that a department store where she worked at will hold a diamond worth three million pounds. She conspires with Paxton to swipe it for themselves and replace it with a fake copy.

While going through the heist and planning it, Linda and Paxton start to re-evaluate their relationship. The plan nearly goes awry when a security guard who knew Linda catches them, but after they explain themselves, he sympathizes with them and lets them go.

After London goes into lockdown for another two weeks, Linda and Paxton's relationship appears to be in a better place than before.