Starring: Tom Hardy
Directed by: Steven Knight
Distributed by: A24
Running time: 85 minutes
Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Prior to attending the screening of “Locke”, I knew absolutely nothing about the film. All I knew was that it starred Tom Hardy, who stole the show in recent films like “The Dark Knight Rises” as Bane, “Inception” and “Warrior”, and that was enough for me. Personally, I couldn’t get enough of him in those films so I was curious to see what this British drama/thriller was all about.
Tom Hardy plays a family man and construction manager named Ivan Locke, who after receiving a phone call, on the eve of the biggest day of his career, sets in series of events in motion will change and affect the rest of his life. Sounds cool right? But first let me tell you that the film is 85 minutes and only takes place inside the car that Tom Hardy is driving. That’s right, the entire movie takes place in one car with no flashbacks or sub-scenes included. Now if you are wondering if that works at all, let me just say that this is easily one of Hardy’s best roles to date.
From the moment he sets foot in his car the story slowly unfolds but not to quick, and leaves you trying to piece the puzzle together. Hardy is so great in this role that I felt that we were actually watching him makes these decisions for real. His voice is also so mesmerizing. Since the film is him taking phone call after phone call while driving, he is still able to take the audience and have they waiting for each word to come out of his mouth. I found myself getting quite nervous and biting my fingernails. So with not much happening on screen, they were still able to get that reaction and to me that means it is very effective.
This film is playing now in limited release and expands wider in theaters on May 16th. So it is going to be facing very stiff competition up against films like “Godzilla” starring Aaron Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen and “Million Dollar Arm” starring Jon Hamm. Hopefully audiences can find time to give this film a look because it is very well shot, perfectly acted and all around excellent film.