Review of Locke (2014) by Lewis E — 20 Oct 2014

Be the passenger in Tom Hardy's BMW as he races down the motorway, taking a series of stressful phone calls after he makes some regrettable decisions regarding his personal and professional life. I could name plenty of people who would not last ten minutes of this film. Some would deem this understandable since the description given above is all there is to it. Why I never really lost interest is due to the level of authentication inherent in the situation (i.e. the phone calls). It was not even very dramatic events but rather a sequence of conversations which are completely believable and ones which have likely been experience by much of the population, even though probably not all at once. What helped it a little bit more was that it involves what appears to be a sincere and likeable chap, albeit a chap with clear daddy issues. Having to hold the spotlight for so long certainly required an actor of high calibre so thankfully a compelling Tom Hardy was there to carry it through.

'Locke' has received high critical praise but it was never going to be outstanding for a proportion of viewers due to its extremely monotonous premise. Also there is the disappointing truth that everything there was to reveal was disclosed pretty soon, meaning it was not building towards anything substantial. Nevertheless, in light of its simple and repetitive premise, it is even more impressive that I managed to come out of this without being bored at any moment and actually feeling entertained to some extent.

I've been on a lot of motorway journeys in my lifetime and 'entertaining' is not a word I would use to describe them. While acknowledging 'Locke's limitations, how they managed to turn a motorway journey into a respectable hour and 20 minute film deserves some applause.