Locke (2013)

It didn't even occur to me to book tickets for this film when it was featured at the London Film Festival, since the premise sounded a little iffy, and I usually assume that I will catch up with any worthwhile British flicks in due course. Much to everyone's amazement it was the surprise breakout hit of the fest.

Tom Hardy is Ivan Locke, heading a cast which includes Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson and other noted thesps, and he is the whole show. Why? Because he is the only actor on screen as he drives down the motorway at night. Everyone else is just a voice on his car-phone. Although Hardy is associated with action roles in movies like "Inception" and "The Dark Knight Rises", the only actions in this film are the whirling emotions and problems in Ivan's brain as he ploughs towards London, dealing with a constant stream of calls and callers.

The second directorial effort from writer-producer Steven Knight after the Jason Statham vehicle "Hummingbird" (also 2013), Knight was responsible for the screenplays for a number of winning films such as "Eastern Promises" and "Dirty Pretty Things". Hardy may bear the success of the movie on his very sturdy shoulders -- much like the singleton heroes of "127 Hours" and "Buried", but Knight has provided him with a variety of problems to occupy his mind and ours and the 90 minute running time never flags.

Locke lives and breathes concrete in his engineering job and Europe's biggest 'pour' is scheduled for the morrow. However he can't be there to supervise things since an urgent phone call from a one-night stand informs him that she is about to give birth prematurely and is depending on his moral support. Seems he somehow never got around to telling his wife and sons about this; while he has no affectionate feelings towards the hospitalised woman, he does have strong feelings of duty and obligation. Meanwhile there are problems with the preparations for the 'pour' and his somewhat inebriated second-in-command is not quite coping. Poor old Ivan finds himself having to juggle the demands of the needy mother-to-be (and there are birth complications as well), having to hope for some kind of understanding and forgiveness from his family, and having to justify his actions at work to his unsympathetic superiors. 

What the movie teaches us is that one's life can change drastically and dramatically in a matter of a few hours (and in a confined space as well), as Ivan risks ruining his career and his marriage by doing what he believes to be the honourable thing. The film finishes fairly abruptly and we are left to guess whether he will manage to salvage anything from the ruins of his unexpected journey -- and the omens are not promising.

Hardy does a sterling job of keeping us rooting for his hero, despite the calamities that seem to be awaiting at every turn. My only problem with his character was the use of an inconsistent Welsh accent which was completely inexplicable and unnecessary. He would have done even better if he kept his own quite acceptable voice for the beleaguered Ivan Locke.