For most film aficionados, Nicolas Harvard may not be a name that springs to mind when thinking of the movie industry, but the assistant director has an extensive track record in Hollywood, having worked on such films as Whiplash, The Circle, and Chappaquiddick, and also on television series such as Paramount’s smash hit neo-western series Yellowstone. Last year, however, he took the reins for his debut feature as director with The Locksmith. The thriller sports a script penned by (among others) Joe Russo, one-half of the Russo brothers of MCU fame.

Filming began in New Mexico in late 2021 and wrapped early last year, and now Screen Media is gearing up for a release in the near future, with the official trailer dropping last week. Here’s what we know about the thriller so far.

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The Locksmith: The Plot

The Locksmith focuses on the story of an ex-criminal, a master locksmith who has served time in prison for his role in a bungled heist. Having completed his sentence, he gets out of jail and resolves to leave his life of crime behind, re-establishing contact with his ex-girlfriend (who now works as a police detective) and his child. However, shortly after his release, he is accosted by an old friend who needs his help to escape a difficult situation.

One unexpected disappearance later, and the protagonist’s life is turned upside down. As an old friend counsels him to stay away from the criminal underworld, the locksmith finds himself faced with an impossible decision as he tries to save his family and himself.

The Locksmith: The Cast

     Screen Media

A strong cast is headed by Ryan Phillippe as Miller, the locksmith of the title. After making his film debut opposite Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman in the hit submarine thriller Crimson Tide, Phillippe’s profile began to rise in the mid-2000s, when he appeared in a string of critically acclaimed movies, including Oscar-winning productions such as Gosford Park and Crash, as well as Clint Eastwood’s World War Two drama Flags of Our Fathers, in which he appeared as the lead. In recent years his big-screen work has mostly concentrated on thrillers and action movies, concurrently with his television work, the most notable of which was his turn as Cody Hoyt in the first season of ABC’s Big Sky. He is also due to appear opposite Abigail Breslin, Andy Garcia, Donald Sutherland, and Kyle MacLachlan in Miranda’s Victim, a crime drama about the 1963 murder that led to the establishment of Miranda rights. The movie is currently in production.

Starring opposite Phillippe as Miller’s ex-girlfriend Beth is Kate Bosworth, perhaps best known to moviegoers for playing newspaper reporter Lois Lane opposite Brandon Routh’s Clark Kent in Superman Returns. Since then, notable film appearances have included a supporting role opposite Robert De Nero in Heist, as part of an ensemble cast including Alfred Molina and Martin Sheen in the black comedy The Devil Has a Name, and as the female lead in the action thriller The Enforcer, which premiered last September.

Ving Rhames also appears. Best known for his performances as crime kingpin Marsellus Wallace in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, and as Luther Stickell, Tom Cruise’s trusty computer boffin, in the Mission Impossible franchise, Rhames has made very few appearances in recent years, restricting his work to small supporting roles and voice work for animated features such as The Star and last year’s critically acclaimed Netflix stop-motion animation Wendell & Wild. Expect a lot more of Rhames in the coming eighteen months, however, as he reprises his role as Stickell in the seventh and eighth installments of the Mission Impossible franchise, titled Dead Reckoning Parts One and Two. Rhames is also slated to lend his voice talents, along with Hollywood big hitters such as Chris Pratt, Nicholas Hoult, and Samuel L. Jackson, to the big-screen adaptation of Jim Davis’s Garfield comic strip, tentatively scheduled for release in May next year.

Other cast members include Jeffrey Nordling (The Man In The High Castle, So Help Me Todd), Charlie Weber (How To Get Away With Murder, After We Collided), Kaylee Bryant (Santa Clarita Diet, Criminal Minds), and Noel Gugliemi (Mayans M.C., Days Of Our Lives).

Release Date

The film’s trailer speaks to a taut, tight thriller, and if the “ex-con faces dilemma over getting back into crime” trope is familiar territory, Rhames provides dramatic heft as friend and mentor to Phillippe’s struggling lead character, desperately trying to reconnect with his young daughter. The Locksmith was originally slated for a general release in September of last year before production delays forced a rethink. It is now due for release on February 3 in selected theaters and will also be available through video on demand.