Chatter Box Film

Lockjaw is an independent drama directed and written by Sabrina Greco.

The plot follows a girl named Rayna (Blu Hunt), who drives drunk and crashes her car, which leads to her having her jaw wired shut. After recently getting out of the hospital, she and her boyfriend, along with a group of friends, go to a magic show. There, she meets a magician who knows much about her and the others. After the show, they all go back to the magician’s house, where secrets start to come out and we learn more about the characters.

I found Lockjaw to be a unique drama. It was less about big events happening and more focused on how the characters engage and interact with each other. The dialogue felt very realistic and had a natural flow; especially in the way the characters talked to one another.

I thought it was funny and clever that Blu Hunt, who plays Rayna, actually had a lockjaw or something similar while filming. At times, it’s hard to understand her, and instead of the characters just ignoring it, they call her out on it by saying things like, “We can’t understand you.” I thought this was clever, since we, as the audience, also struggle to understand her sometimes. The film did a good job with explaining what Rayna was saying in a way that felt natural and fit with the tone of the conversations.

Rayna as a character was interesting; I found myself liking her sometimes, but at other times I thought she treated her friends and others badly, especially when they were being kind to her. I wasn’t always sure why she acted that way, but I got the sense it could be because she felt frustrated or trapped with her jaw wired shut, and maybe was looking for attention or just couldn’t express herself properly.

One thing I liked about Rayna is that she didn’t seem embarrassed about having a lockjaw or sounding different—she owned it and was confident. I also liked her outfit and how she came across, even though she seemed confident, it also felt like she struggled to open up emotionally and express how she felt.

There’s a subplot involving Rayna’s boyfriend and one of her best friends, who have all been friends for years but have now fallen out. As the film goes on, we find out why, and it was interesting to see how it all played out. It made sense why they were acting the way they were towards each other. The film mixes drama and comedy, but in a subtle way that made it funnier for me.

Lockjaw was pretty slow-paced, and not a lot of exciting things happened—it’s more about exploring the characters and their relationships. Although, I liked that it took a different approach. It felt fresh and unique, and it kept me engaged the whole time. One scene near the end, where the characters do an exercise together, confused me a bit—I wasn’t sure what the point of it was or what it was trying to say, but it did help the characters overcome their struggles. I also found one of the friends who shows up a while later in the film slightly confusing.

Overall, Lockjaw was a unique, character-driven film that felt original in its approach. The cast are great, and while it may not appeal to those looking for fast-paced action or big plot twists, I found it to be a refreshing and different exploration of human relationships and communication, that took a realistic approach to lots of things.