Review: Locke

What does it mean to be a good man? For Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy), to be a good man means holding oneself accountable and accepting responsibility for one's actions even if it threatens the stability of everything else in his life.

Over the course of 90-minute drive, Locke troubleshoots the crises resulting from his decision to travel to the hospital to be present for the birth of his child. There's panic from his boss Gareth (Ben Daniels), who can't believe that his most responsible and dependable foreman, who's never put a foot wrong, would up and leave the night before the single biggest concrete pour in Europe. There's his colleague Donal (Andrew Scott), who needs to be talked through paperwork checks and procedures. There's the mother of his child Bethan (Olivia Colman), in labour two months ahead of time, who's worried he won't make it. Most importantly, there's Katrina (Ruth Wilson), his wife of 15 years and the mother of his two young boys, who learns of his infidelity and who may not welcome him back home.

It seems rather implausible, Locke's decision, but as we learn during the drive, he himself was an illegitimate child with an absentee father. Out of this abandonment, Locke constructed a self that is responsible, organised, logical, and practical. He is a man looking for the logical next step in every situation. He is a man who refuses to shirk his responsibilities and renege on his pledge. As he explains, "I have made a decision. The baby was caused by me. I have not behaved in the right way with this woman at all. I have behaved in a way that isn't like me. But now I am going to do the right thing."

Director Steven Knight, best known for penning the screenplays to Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises, scrapes suspense from the chain of calls that bombard Locke. Though the device of having Locke rail at the ghost of his deadbeat father borders on contrived, it works within the framework of the story. Knight has executed quite an experiment with Locke. Wanting to shoot Hardy's performance in real time, Knight deployed three multiple digital cameras, inside and outside of the car as it travelled down the M6. The other actors, who never appear onscreen, called in from a hotel conference room. The whole endeavour was done in 12 days and for less than a million dollars.

Whatever the circumstances, Locke should be remembered as a showcase for Hardy's supremely mesmerising performance. There's a perversity in his casting akin to Michael Fassbender's in Frank. Hardy, with his baby bruiser face, has a physicality that demands to be unleashed. Confinement suits Hardy, whose calmness and serenity take on a palpable potency as events unspool. The volume of his Welsh-accented voice hardly goes above normal, yet it grips you with its modulations and cadences. Hardy navigates his character's complexities with finesse, resulting in a compelling portrait of masculinity under siege.

Locke

Directed by: Steven Knight

Written by: Steven Knight

Starring: Tom Hardy, Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson, Ben Daniels, Andrew Scott, Tom Holland