Review of Locke (2014) by Tr J — 20 Oct 2015

This is a strong film with an excellent performance by the only person we see for the entire length of it--played by Tom Hardy. In the role of Ivan Locke, a man whose life and work come unraveled on one fateful night as he drives on the freeway, Hardy plays a range from quiet and restrained to emotionally honest and then explosive as he talks with various people on the car's phone.

For the most part, Locke is an everyman struggling to hold his composure in the face of powerful challenges that come at him in waves as he talks to most of the key people in his life. He tries desperately to make everything OK with them all, even as the pieces of his existence seem to break one after another.

I had great difficulty understanding Hardy's chosen Welsh accent for at least the first few minutes, and periodically after that. But the movie is daring and creative, earning our attention to this man who is trying to do the right thing despite the costs.

It's not easy to keep a level of interest when all we see is a man driving a car at night and the surrounding freeway scenes, however creative the cinematography. But it's more than a bravura performance and a unique visual style at work.

It's also a story that should resonate with most viewers, a story that becomes more compelling as Locke's various phone conversations gradually reveal the choices he's made and the huge price he must pay.