My IMDb Rating: 8
Average IMDb Rating: 7.1
Vitals
Runtime: 85 minutes
Written by: Steven Knight
Directed by: Steven Knight
Starring
- Tom Hardy (The Revenant, Inception)
- Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter, Empire of Light)
- Ruth Wilson (Luther, Saving Mr. Banks)
- Andrew Scott (Spectre, Sherlock)
Synopsis
Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) is a construction supervisor and the night before a big job, he learns Bethan, a coworker he had a one-night stand with seven months prior, has gone into premature labor. While his wife and kids wait for his return home to watch a soccer match, Locke decides to travel to London instead to be with Bethan. His own upbringing in which his father abandoned him motivates him to be with Bethan so that her child will have a fatherly presence in its life.
On his drive to London, Locke fields various phone calls from his boss, a junior colleague, his wife, his sons, a staff member from the hospital where Bethan is, a city council head, a police authority, and Bethan herself.
Adding to the pressure is the fact that the junior employee, who is preparing the big cement pour tomorrow, keeps running into setbacks which could jeopardize the entire project. Locke also confesses his infidelity to his wife which strains his relationship with her to the point he is banned from their home.
By the end of the movie, Locke’s life has changed completely since his trip began. As he is about to reach the hospital, Bethan calls him to share with him the cooing of her baby, letting Locke know the birth was successful.
Analysis
The entire movie takes place inside Ivan Locke’s car. All the dialogue is him speaking to the other characters over his car phone.
This concept is similar to Profile where the entire movie was just a screen recording of a laptop and is also reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project where the entire movie is found footage.
I thought it was a brilliant concept. It might sound boring, but give it a chance. It works and it pays off.
This movie was intriguing because ever since I saw My Dinner with Andre in college and my perception of what a movie could be was changed, I have been drawn to unique concepts such as this. I find these unique settings fascinating. It’s a Seinfeld-esque idea where anything can be a movie.
If you think about it, an average movie is about two hours long. Every day, you fill 24 hours with activities. Slice off two hours from your day and that could be a movie. It might be a boring movie that no one would watch, but it could be a movie. Seinfeld did episodes where the entire story is locating a car in a parking garage or waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant.
Beyond the innovation though, the story still works. There is plenty of drama and excitement. The dialogue is good, which would be expected since the writer is being pushed to rest the entire success of the movie on his words. Without much other action, the movie relies on the dialogue to move things along.
Beyond the writing and directing, the cinematography and camera work were excellent. You really felt the emotions Locke was going through. To anyone who has been on a long car ride at night, you know feelings of loneliness can appear and linger. That feeling is apparent in this film, adding to the authenticity of the work. I was not able to find out if a Go-Pro was used or not, but I suspect it’s a possibility.
Notes
The entire film is a single take and Tom Hardy filmed the entire thing twice per night over six days.
Writer/Director Steven Knight has said the name Locke is in-part a nod to philosopher John Locke, whose enlightenment ideas partly inspired the American Declaration of Independence.
NOTE: My research and notes come from IMDb and Wikipedia
Trailer
Reeling Reviews 