Review of Locke (2014) by Rhynal R — 11 Nov 2014

Locke is movie about a man who's life falls apart while on a car ride across state. The plot may be mundane with no real twists or turns, but it's Tom Hardy's spectacular performance that makes this movie a must see, even for those who aren't fans of the genre.

Without revealing too much, Locke, played by Tom Hardy, is a construction worker who is well respected, honest and a good man who happens to make a mistake. Rather than run from it, he decides to own up to it, which manages to give the character some level of redemption. As the journey progresses, we're given bits and pieces of information about what's going on and who are the people in his life. The contrast, change and pace of the movie is handled so well from start to finish that the movie never runs out of steam, which is something that tends to happen in movies of this genre.

Hardy completely devotes himself to the character; showcasing a range of emotions, from happiness, sadness, depression, and even moments of psychosis. To be honest, if it were in the hands of another actor who couldn't deliver the source material so well, the movie may have flopped, but Hardy is amazing. The way he sighs when he receives bad news; the way he tries to smile but tears are falling down his face when he speaks to his son; the way he, despite everything that is happening, tries to keep it all together; it's very believable and Hardy tugs at your heart strings for sympathy. Initially, you just know what happened, but by the end of the journey when you see what he's been through and what he's lost, you sympathize with him and want him to have a happy ending. It's just a testament to his acting as this is Hardy's show. The other characters are just voices, not on screen. He even manages to show great chemistry with them despite the fact that you can't see them, which again, is just because Hardy's such a damn good actor. His Welsh accent too, is thick and sold.

But while it's got strengths, it's also got weakness. Firstly, I feel like they really tried too hard to centre the plot around concrete. I get that that was his job and it was a sort of plot device to push the movie forward and keep it interesting but they devoted a bit too much screen time in my opinion to it. Also, randomly during the movie, he displays transient bouts of psychosis, which, by all means, is done incredibly well by Hardy, but these scenes seem out of place as they have no real impact or connection to the issues which were being dealt with. There may be a stretchable connection, but that sort of ruined the moments for me. A final complaint is the ending; which felt a bit pre-mature and rushed for me. I felt like the movie still had another 10 minutes or should have had it since there were plot holes and questions which won't be answered.

However, despite these flaws, Locke is a good movie showing once again, not only is Tom Hardy a great actor, but movies like this CAN actually work if you've got a good script and a capable actor. Lock this one down. 8/10.