A film set entirely in a moving vehicle—and consisting of one man’s series of cell phone conversations with coworkers, family and companions—could be a terrible bore. And yet, director Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) makes the idea work in Locke (out next month on Blu-ray and DVD).
With Tom Hardy in the driver seat (and on speaker phone), Locke is the story of a life unraveling in real time as the protagonist and sole on-screen actor, Ivan Locke (Hardy), races cross-country to a London hospital where a woman from a one-night encounter is having his baby. Because his father had abandoned him as illegitimate, Ivan is determined to at least be there at his child’s birth. The journey, however, will jeopardize his marriage, his family and his job.
The cinematography is beautiful with darkness broken by the lights of passing cars. Hardy’s performance holds the drama in tight focus as Locke clocks in at 85 minutes without a second wasted.
