Movie review: Locke - no pit stops
A film set entirely inside a car can be strangely exciting
Acclaimed acting teacher Stella Adler once said “in your choices lies your talent”. Out of the contemporary acting lot, this mantra is perhaps best applicable to Tom Hardy. The British actor’s filmography is one sensible career choice after the other, so it’s fitting that he stars in Steven Knight’s gripping film Locke, a film about decisions itself.
For roughly an hour and a half, all we see is Tom Hardy. It’s a mesmerising one-man show, which instantly reminds you of Rodrigo Cortés’ 2010 thriller Buried with Ryan Reynolds. Tom Hardy plays Ivan Locke, a construction manager driving his car late at night. We quickly learn that he’s usually a professional and reliable bloke, but tonight he has abandoned his workplace. He had to supervise the pouring of a great amount of cement into the foundations of a new building, but he simply can’t and he won’t. Something else is happening in London, something far more important to Locke, and he has made his decision.
While driving, Locke literally tries to manage his life via an in-built telephone. He talks to his co-worker, delegating all his duties to him, along with valuable instructions to safeguard the cement pour. Just because he can’t be present, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. He also speaks to his boss, who cannot believe how careless Locke is being. After all, the “guys in Chicago” have a lot of money riding on this building site, this being the company’s most important night. But while Locke can understand and tries his best to work from his car, he is also determined to drive to London for his personal, momentous occasion.
He phones his family too. His boys are waiting at home, wanting to watch an important football match with their dad. His wife has even bought German beer and sausages. He tells them he won’t be coming and they are visibly disappointed. Throughout all these conversations, the person on the other line always has one expression. We can’t see the person, but the voice is either angry, shocked, happy and so on. Ivan Locke, on the other hand, with his face on full display, conveys a myriad of emotions. Tom Hardy is an exceptional actor and it’s difficult to imagine another person in this role. He is able to play angry whilst remaining soft-spoken with an imaginary dad in the backseat and he is able to muster up a grin whilst being depressed within.
Of course, the real reason for which Locke is jeopardising everything is a bit anticlimactic. It’s nothing earth-shattering, but then again this isn’t an action film. If this were a Hollywood production, then Locke would have had 90 minutes to drive to London in order to stop something from happening. A frenetic chase sequence might be there for good measure too. But in this calm, philosophical film, Locke won’t be able to stop that particular thing from happening, so Steven Knight gives us an exercise in less-is-more and Tom Hardy delivers a masterful performance. Once we learn of Locke’s true motives, it’s a striking metaphor for life in general.
Overall, Locke is an exciting film and the closest you’ll ever get to driving down the M25 motorway with Tom Hardy. And it’s a journey you most probably shouldn’t miss.
Rating:4/5
Schayan Riaz is a Germany-based writer.
He tweets @schayanriaz
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, August 31st, 2014.
For roughly an hour and a half, all we see is Tom Hardy. It’s a mesmerising one-man show, which instantly reminds you of Rodrigo Cortés’ 2010 thriller Buried with Ryan Reynolds. Tom Hardy plays Ivan Locke, a construction manager driving his car late at night. We quickly learn that he’s usually a professional and reliable bloke, but tonight he has abandoned his workplace. He had to supervise the pouring of a great amount of cement into the foundations of a new building, but he simply can’t and he won’t. Something else is happening in London, something far more important to Locke, and he has made his decision.
While driving, Locke literally tries to manage his life via an in-built telephone. He talks to his co-worker, delegating all his duties to him, along with valuable instructions to safeguard the cement pour. Just because he can’t be present, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. He also speaks to his boss, who cannot believe how careless Locke is being. After all, the “guys in Chicago” have a lot of money riding on this building site, this being the company’s most important night. But while Locke can understand and tries his best to work from his car, he is also determined to drive to London for his personal, momentous occasion.
He phones his family too. His boys are waiting at home, wanting to watch an important football match with their dad. His wife has even bought German beer and sausages. He tells them he won’t be coming and they are visibly disappointed. Throughout all these conversations, the person on the other line always has one expression. We can’t see the person, but the voice is either angry, shocked, happy and so on. Ivan Locke, on the other hand, with his face on full display, conveys a myriad of emotions. Tom Hardy is an exceptional actor and it’s difficult to imagine another person in this role. He is able to play angry whilst remaining soft-spoken with an imaginary dad in the backseat and he is able to muster up a grin whilst being depressed within.
Of course, the real reason for which Locke is jeopardising everything is a bit anticlimactic. It’s nothing earth-shattering, but then again this isn’t an action film. If this were a Hollywood production, then Locke would have had 90 minutes to drive to London in order to stop something from happening. A frenetic chase sequence might be there for good measure too. But in this calm, philosophical film, Locke won’t be able to stop that particular thing from happening, so Steven Knight gives us an exercise in less-is-more and Tom Hardy delivers a masterful performance. Once we learn of Locke’s true motives, it’s a striking metaphor for life in general.
Overall, Locke is an exciting film and the closest you’ll ever get to driving down the M25 motorway with Tom Hardy. And it’s a journey you most probably shouldn’t miss.
Rating:4/5
Schayan Riaz is a Germany-based writer.
He tweets @schayanriaz
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, August 31st, 2014.