Review of Locke (2014) by Dave M — 26 Aug 2014

Another example of a film that I liked but many will not and im beginning to think that intentionally going against the grain is becoming a sub conscience thing. I seem to have a tendency to go for films that have self-imposed constraints in relation to a single set or a lone actor. All is Lost, Buried and 127 Hours are examples of this that I loved and Locke is another. A 90 minute film of a bloke in his car making phone calls will not be everybody's cup of tea. There are no races or chases, no stunts and no scantily clad, painted jezebels with questionable moral values. But despite the lack of this Locke did keep my interest and I couldn't help but wonder about the possible events after the film had ended which is the benchmark of quality for me.

Ivan Locke (Hardy) is a project manager in major construction and he finishes work one evening and gets in his car. He reaches a set of traffic lights and whilst waiting for the Red to change he makes a decision and changes his route. We learn that the reason for this is that he has made a mistake in his life and is determined to do the right thing. The problem with this is that his family and work are fundamentally affected and he spends the journey to his destination constantly on the phone juggling all of these issues at the same time with varying degrees of success. Added to this is his anger at his Dad (who is dead) for being weak and taking easy options in life and this drives him on both figuratively and literally.

I'm a big fan of Tom Hardy and this is arguably some of his finest work. You have to have a certain level of on screen gravitas for this to work and I think Hardy has this and more. Even though you don't see any of the characters he interacts with you form a picture in your mind nonetheless. What Hardy gets across well is the emotional wrestling match that is evident throughout and whilst I didn't exactly sympathise with his predicament I believed that his actions were out of character. I liked the way the film was shot as I've always been a fan of films shot at night and the style at times reminded me a little of many driving scenes in Under The Skin.

Very interesting film that I thought suggested that doing the right thing in life is often the more difficult option or path. The lame, easy option is likely to lead to you being despised by those you might care for. My perspective on this is be strong throughout and you might find you don't don't need to choose the lesser of two evils in the first place. Food for thought that's for sure.