Locke

Greetings again from the darkness. Most movies that take place in a confined space are outright thrillers that usually take full advantage of helpless feelings and desperate actions. Think back to Duel, Phone Booth and Buried. A ticking clock and lack of a safe escape route had us sweating bullets with Dennis Weaver, Colin Farrell and Ryan Reynolds. This entry from the Dallas International Film Festival takes a much different approach.

Noted British writer Steven Knight also directs this one, and rather than nail-biting tension, we get a pretty interesting character study. Mr. Knight has written some impressive screenplays: Dirty Pretty Things, Amazing Grace, and Eastern Promises. Utilizing every ounce of his writing expertise, he keeps us connected to Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) as he drives on the freeway with intermittent rain being his biggest physical obstacle. There are no high speed chases. No stunts. No weapons. Ivan is not being followed by a spy or anyone else. He is merely driving and talking on the phone via Bluetooth.

In what could be considered the ultimate film gimmick, Tom Hardy is the only actor to appear on screen. His Ivan Locke is not just the only major character. He is the ONLY one. All supporting work and conflict is provided by a multitude of voices on the other end of a phone call. There is no need for me to delve into the story or the plot, but you should know that the situation Ivan finds himself in is not some creative web of criminal deceit ... instead it's his penance for one poor decision. That poor decision has him in a tough spot with very poor timing.

For those that wonder if Bane from The Dark Knight Rises has the acting chops to hold our attention, a reminder of Tom Hardy's fine work should alleviate concerns: Warrior, Inception, Lawless, Bronson, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He can act and he can make a character his own, just as he does with Ivan Locke.

This film tells the journey of a construction manager who drives in his car from Birmingham to London, because of a responsible but destructive decision he has made. Over the course of the drive, he talks on the phone to various parties, hoping to make things right.

"Locke" is an interesting film because it has only one actor appearing on the screen. The number of calls Ivan gets is quite astonishing, at times even make my eyes roll. Yet, the calls change in emotion as time goes on, especially the wife's call, which is realistic and engaging. The last phone call by the son is also very emotional. I enjoyed watching this interesting and challenging film, both to make and to watch.

Apart from about 20 seconds at the start, the entire film is shot in the confined space of a BMW drivers seat. There is only one physical actor & about 4 different camera shots. Tom Hardy plays Ivan Locke, he lives a successful life in Construction & is a dedicated family man. He is calm and collected and gives the impression that he is a man all about control. In the time it takes him to drive from Birmingham to London, his whole life changes, and you get to see how and why through various telephone calls on Bluetooth loudspeaker.

Tom Hardy gives a very convincing performance and shows everybody that he is not a one trick pony and he can adapt well to different roles and scenarios. With Tom Hardy being the only star of this movie he really needed to bring a powerful performance that the audience can connect to, and he did this successfully in my opinion. The director stated that he wanted to make something completely different and fresh for mainstream cinema, there are other films out similar to this but the ones I have seen don't match up to Locke. This does feel unique and I can appreciate how making a film of this style must be challenging to make it entertaining and keep its viewers hooked. The run time is about right and at just over 80 minutes it's relatively short but I think this helps.

This movie is slow paced, its one man talking on the phone for 80 minutes, so if this doesn't sound like something for you then avoid! I personally found it tense and gripping. The film didn't head in the direction I thought it would but this isn't a bad thing. It has its own unique feel and this is always something I welcome in a world of cinema that is so saturated with clichés and over told stories!

When the credits rolled it did leave me thinking about the movie and had me thinking it over in my head. It actually made me feel quite emotional, this is all down to Tom Hardy and his performance. It is hard to say anything else about this movie without giving key plot points away!

7/10

Both in terms of technique and storytelling approach Locke proves to be a fascinating piece of filmmaking, as the audience accompanies a successful construction manager on a thrilling car journey, where he faces a massive, life-changing predicament, one that effects both his professional and private life. Tom Hardy is simply magnificent in the title role, portraying a highly complex character for whom one develops very mixed emotions, as he is respected and despised both at the same time. The film demonstrates great ingenuity and creativity with its concept, proving gripping and incredibly suspenseful throughout, the credit for the which can be equally shared by Hardy's marvelous acting skills and a captivating story that is flawlessly executed. The fact that a fairly simple film with a single actor, a single confined location and a long string of problems can produce such a spellbinding experience is nothing short of extraordinary, which certainly makes Locke worthy of the highest praise.

I went to see the movie because the review of the movie said that it would change what you thought about film making. This would be true if you've never seen a movie before, but that is not the case.

Not to say that the movie is not good. It acts as a sort of one man play starring Tom Hardy as Ivan Locke, a man who made a mistake in his past that threatens to unwrap his perfect life when he tries to do the right thing. The movie totally relies on the actor playing the role and Tom steps up to the challenge nicely.

But I've seen this kind of one man play with Buried starring Ryan Reynolds and Brake starring Stephen Dorff. I can even mention other movies like 127hours or Phone booth that have a similar concept.

What makes Locke different is that the pressure of life and death is not there. In those movies the leading (and only) men were threaten with the proposal of death, While in this movie, Ivan Locke's way of Life is threaten with change, and it's this change in the concept that made the movie Quiet and low key, but the filmmakers were still able to make if fast pasted and kinetic (having it take place in a Car going down the highway helps).

The movie had the same pressure of a ticking clock about to explode and the lead character attempting to talk himself out of the situation, but the filmmaker does not force the tension or thrills on you. Ivan Locke's situation is very down to earth and every day to day. Watching him attempt to deal with this situation could have come off boring after a half hour if not for Tom Hardy showing his mental acting chops (versus how physically intimidating he seemed as Bane in Dark Knight Rises, he's a small man in real life).

Though the movie was good to watch I could have gotten the same effect streaming it at home on Netflix. Recommend you do the same.