Movies like Locke are incredibly rare. They only come along every so often and when they do, they do a spot of ground breaking. And for Locke, its more like ground smashing. Many audiences will have never seen anything like Locke before.
On paper, it sounds like the most boring movie ever created. A successful construction manager's life is drastically changed by a series of phone calls while he drives. Some of these phone calls he makes himself, others he receives. And that’s even before knowing that the camera is solely fixed on Tom Hardy for 99% of the entire movie as he drives around. The camera is just focused on his bearded face, from a few different angles and on occasion you might get an exterior, out of focus shot of some traffic.
So, you’ve read this far and have probably made up your mind, that Locke sounds like a boring crock of shit. Well, if you’re brain dead, it may well be. Otherwise, this is a phenomenal piece of film making combined with an astonishing performance from Tom Hardy.
Within minutes of the opening scene, director Steven Knight manages to not only hook you in, but pull you into the BMW Ivan Locke is driving. Its a very surreal experience watching this as by the end of it, you’ll be reaching to unbuckle your seat belt. Its not like you’re watching what's going on, you are in the damn car. Audiences will be hard pushed to recall a more enveloping experience at the cinema. I’m not going to go into the plot points to much as it will only trample through spoiler town, but lets just say things go from bad to worse. For every down, there's an up. For every up, there's an even bigger down. Locke just keeps motoring along (sorry) and you really start to wonder just what the outcome will be of Tom Hardy’s character.
It goes without saying that Hardy is a superb actor. Over the last few years he has just excelled in role after role, but his portrayal of this construction manager is simply a tour de force of acting. It is just extraordinary. The reserve this character projects is mesmerising. The mentally instability projected is sensational and the emotional beats are exceptional. Not only that though, the tone throughout the movie is also mesmerising. The way the visuals entwine themselves around the entire movie along with the dialogue, which in places just repeats itself like a constant, subtle mantra. There is so much going on here, so much that will make you think and so much that you can dig deep under the surface for. Its such a rewarding viewing experience.
Locke isn’t going to be for everybody, but trust me on this. Commit yourself to the movie and just let it wash over you. Get in that BMW with Ivan Locke, and go for the cinematic ride of your life. An absolute must watch! Hypnotic and incredible.
