Locke (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Tom Hardy is in the driver's seat in 'Locke', a one-man film written & directed by Steven Knight. Hardy (of Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Warrior, & countless other rock solid flicks) plays 30-something yr. old Ivan Locke, a rational, level-headed cement construction manager on a $100,000,000 skyscraper project who, in a series of fateful phone calls on a long nighttime drive, tries to stop his life from completely unraveling. His reason for making this nighttime drive/journey? A 43 yr. old woman with whom he had a meaningless one-night stand is alone, scared ... and going into premature labor with his child. When Locke got in his car, he had a wonderful job & a loving family. By the time he'll step out of his car, he'll have none of it.
His choice to drive to London for the birth of his child to a relative stranger (to abandon his current lifestyle to fulfill what he believes is a moral obligation) alters his priorities. When he cannot be on-site the next morning to supervise that major construction project ... his 'bastard' boss fires him. When he confesses his child-producing infidelity to his unsuspecting wife, she is expectedly stunned & decides that he's not welcome back home. Within the claustrophobic confines of his car, Ivan Locke faces the fact that he may have just lost everything. Still, he chooses to do what he believes is the right thing to do. Will Locke lose it all?
This movie is roughly 80 minutes long and it ENTIRELY takes place in real time in the car with Tom Hardy talking on a hands-free phone for the duration. But writer/director Steven Knight keeps this so-called 'gimmick' chugging along with all sorts of brooding emotions, suspenseful phone conversations, & tension-building complications. Locke thinks that he can manage everything with his typical cool & competence -- but no one can fix it all. He tries to stay calm & logical in the face of adversity. But then a heartbreaking conversation occurs when his young son calls him in the wake of a football game win. The boy yearns for the normalcy of a father & son bonding over a sports victory. Locke, frozen in place, unable to speak, tears in his eyes ... cannot provide that for his son. In that moment, Hardy shows how much Locke has sacrificed. His pain radiates from the screen. So he may be 'cool & competent', but he also has a damaged heart & soul.
I was engrossed throughout. The 1st 10 minutes or so take some getting used to because of the nature of the film, as well as getting used to the British accents. But yeah, 'Locke' is taut, ripe with dramatic tension, & anchored by tremendous work by Tom Hardy. Without his deft, nuanced central performance, I don't believe that this movie would be as successful as it is. With his steely appearance, his low-key vocal inflections, & how he says what he says ... we get a clear idea of who this man is and what his personal/professional life is truly like OUTSIDE of the car. That's an amazing feat. Ivan Locke is a complex young man whose life is turned upside down on this fateful car ride. And thanks to Hardy, it is fascinating to see (and to assume) what may happen to Locke after the credits roll.
The script does overplay some of the emotional moments; especially as Locke deals with the avalanche-like fallout from his indiscretion confession. But thankfully, no melodrama enters the fray. There are very few missteps in the script/direction. And as mentioned, there are none to be found in Hardy's performance. Now, mileage may vary with some viewers on this film. Some will not be able to take the idea/concept that the entire thing occurs in one car (I'm reminded of Robert Redford's solo act last year in 'All is Lost'). But I thought it was great. Steven Knight has crafted a unique film that makes a sobering statement about marriage, fatherhood, devotion, morality, accepting consequences, and the changes that accompany them. It's amazing to think how one terrible choice could destroy you.
His choice to drive to London for the birth of his child to a relative stranger (to abandon his current lifestyle to fulfill what he believes is a moral obligation) alters his priorities. When he cannot be on-site the next morning to supervise that major construction project ... his 'bastard' boss fires him. When he confesses his child-producing infidelity to his unsuspecting wife, she is expectedly stunned & decides that he's not welcome back home. Within the claustrophobic confines of his car, Ivan Locke faces the fact that he may have just lost everything. Still, he chooses to do what he believes is the right thing to do. Will Locke lose it all?
This movie is roughly 80 minutes long and it ENTIRELY takes place in real time in the car with Tom Hardy talking on a hands-free phone for the duration. But writer/director Steven Knight keeps this so-called 'gimmick' chugging along with all sorts of brooding emotions, suspenseful phone conversations, & tension-building complications. Locke thinks that he can manage everything with his typical cool & competence -- but no one can fix it all. He tries to stay calm & logical in the face of adversity. But then a heartbreaking conversation occurs when his young son calls him in the wake of a football game win. The boy yearns for the normalcy of a father & son bonding over a sports victory. Locke, frozen in place, unable to speak, tears in his eyes ... cannot provide that for his son. In that moment, Hardy shows how much Locke has sacrificed. His pain radiates from the screen. So he may be 'cool & competent', but he also has a damaged heart & soul.
I was engrossed throughout. The 1st 10 minutes or so take some getting used to because of the nature of the film, as well as getting used to the British accents. But yeah, 'Locke' is taut, ripe with dramatic tension, & anchored by tremendous work by Tom Hardy. Without his deft, nuanced central performance, I don't believe that this movie would be as successful as it is. With his steely appearance, his low-key vocal inflections, & how he says what he says ... we get a clear idea of who this man is and what his personal/professional life is truly like OUTSIDE of the car. That's an amazing feat. Ivan Locke is a complex young man whose life is turned upside down on this fateful car ride. And thanks to Hardy, it is fascinating to see (and to assume) what may happen to Locke after the credits roll.
The script does overplay some of the emotional moments; especially as Locke deals with the avalanche-like fallout from his indiscretion confession. But thankfully, no melodrama enters the fray. There are very few missteps in the script/direction. And as mentioned, there are none to be found in Hardy's performance. Now, mileage may vary with some viewers on this film. Some will not be able to take the idea/concept that the entire thing occurs in one car (I'm reminded of Robert Redford's solo act last year in 'All is Lost'). But I thought it was great. Steven Knight has crafted a unique film that makes a sobering statement about marriage, fatherhood, devotion, morality, accepting consequences, and the changes that accompany them. It's amazing to think how one terrible choice could destroy you.