Review of Locke (2014) by Jeff B — 30 Dec 2014

Locked down in a simple premise that's entrancingly driven home, Tom Hardy's compelling latest pits a troubled family man, his BMW, his phone, and a historic construction job as the most invigoratingly complex drama of the year. Admittedly, it's a tough sell: One principled man drives and talks his way through personal and professional crises for a little under an hour and a half. What transpires, however, is a ridiculously suspenseful one-man show.

In this R-rated drama, a dedicated family man and successful construction manager (Tom Hardy) receives a phone call on the eve of the biggest challenge of his career that sets in motion a series of events that threaten his careful cultivated existence.

There's that cliché that claims you'd watch Such-and-Such actor read the phone book. Interestingly enough, we more or less get that scenario presented here. Hard sell, amazing payoff. Moving through his smart phone Rolodex in a high stakes game of attrition, Tom Hardy develops a character pretty much from a crouch. Writer/director Steven Wright pulls off an amazing hat trick, single handedly making fools out of anybody who adapts a play and makes it look stagey. This risk-taker sets every nail-biting moment of his drama in a car and the intensity never lets up.

Bottom line: Bain Glorious.