LOCKE - Film Review

LOCKE

Tom Hardy

There are no guns, violent deaths or fireworks in this little film by director Stephen Knight. How refreshing. But that’s not to say it's not exciting and gripping, it is. It starts off with a man in a car, and ends with a man in a car. It’s a man in car who turns left instead of right and that decision causes no end of drama. No, he’s not shot at, nor does he have a life altering car accident. He’s just an ordinary bloke who decides to do the right thing at the last minute. And that’s up for conjecture. Did he do the right thing or not? As the film rolls on it becomes clear he has done the moral right thing but the consequences are huge and its up to you to decide whether it was worth it.

Tom Hardy plays Ivan Locke, a successful construction manager, with a loving wife and two sons, Sean and Eddie. So far so good.  He drives off the construction site in his BMW and proceeds to make and receive a million phone calls as he drives down the M1 heading toward London and as we discover, at a time when the largest concrete pour in history is set to take place in the morning and he is supposed to be on site to supervise the pour. That’s his job and everything he’s worked for has lead to this moment in his career, so why does he drive away?

“It is out of my control”, he says over and over in a calm steady voice. What is out of his control and where is he going? At this point we have no idea what’s happening. He calls home and talks to his one of his sons, who is excited about the footy match they are all supposed to watch as a family. His wife is out shopping for his favourite food, sausages and is wearing the footy shirt, something she doesn’t ordinarily do, it’s obviously a family ritual but one he is going to miss.  He then gets another call from the Bastard, Garth his boss who is overseeing the pour, and deals with the construction company bank rolling the operation through the head office is in Chicago. As Garth the Bastard deals with the head honchos, he becomes more and more frantic with Locke who repeats over and over, “It is out of my control.” 

He then gets a call from an Irish lad named Donal who he entrusts to supervise the concrete pour in his absence. This freaks Donal out. He doesn’t think he can do it. He’s never had that much responsibility before. Ivan needs to convince him he can do it and to disregard any calls from Garth. He sets about giving Donal blow-by-blow instructions and sends him off to do his bidding while he takes another call, this one from a woman called Bethany. The tone of this conversation suggests he’s heading off to London for a naughty night, which beggars belief - why blow your whole career and wonderful life for a roll in the hay? As the call progresses it becomes clear its not what you think. He’s detached but warm with her and keeps her calm as we discover she is in hospital, on her own and about to give birth. Who is she and why is he going to see her? 

Ok I hear ya. Boring. No not at all. Maybe in the hands of a lesser actor, but with Tom Hardy at the helm, it’s a riveting ride. He has such an expressive face, you feel his pain and go through it with him. His calm demeanour starts to give way to utter despair with each successive call, especially from his wife and kids.

Long haul journeys tends to give one time to think, reset goals, talk through issues with yourself, argue out your side of the story, listen to CDs or rehearse dialogue when you get to your destination. But Ivan has imaginary arguments with his father who he perceives is sitting in the back seat. He also berates himself for being an idiot and the massive mistake he made that’s led him down this path, heading to St Mary’s hospital in Paddington. Something happened seven months ago and now he's on his way to rectify the situation. The calls he gets from her indicate she is on her own, a lonely older lady about to give birth. Is she his sister? An old lover?  

Locke spends the film fielding calls from an overwrought Donal trying to fill his bosses mighty shoes, Garth the bastard who becomes more abusive, a distraught pregnant women, confused kids and a wife in shock. By the time he gets to London, he’s lost his job, his wife and wonderful life. However, due to a tour-de-force performance from Hardy, you root for him, but you want him to turn around and go home to sort out the mess. But he just keeps driving all the while knowing what he is about to do will completely change his life and the life of everyone around him. Has he done the right thing? Who knows. 

This is a risky film in as much as it’s entirely set in a car. Not a riveting device but its shot beautifully and the road is mesmerizing, almost trance like. The calls are made in real time, so it has that immediacy and sense of reality, and although the other actors never appear on screen it doesn’t take away from character development. You visualise what they look like, and are not disappointed when you read the actors names in the credits. In fact, I thought Donal was played by Irish actor Colin Farrell as his lines are delivered with such irreverence and in constant fear, he’s very funny, similar to his character in In Bruges, however, he is played by Andrew Scott who is just brilliant. They all are. The road is almost another character. It draws you in and reminds you of long haul drives, its trance like and beautiful.

The film has been put into the thriller genre, its not, but it is a thrilling drama. It is a play set in a car. I could easily see this on stage. Olivia Colman plays the pregnant older lady and Ruth Wilson the beleaguered wife and they do an amazing job. You believe every word they say. Produced by Paul Webster, this 85-minute drama is well worth watching. Tom Hardy should have been nominated for an Oscar. He’s that good. Take it out on tight-arse Tuesday. You wont be disappointed.