Locke (2013)
Tom Hardy’s 85 minute BMW commercial… that I loved every minute of.
Not everyone is daring enough to create a film that takes place while the protagonist is driving on the freeway. The audience only sees Tom Hardy driving and the traffic in the area — that’s it. Though there were other famous actors in this film, Hardy was the only one you see, everyone else has to portray their emotions in their voice, an impressive feat that each talented actor successfully achieved.
Honestly, I thought that I would get bored with this film. I mean, it does take place inside of one car, occupied by one actor. Could one performance really be captivating enough, the story dramatic enough, and the stakes high enough to hold my attention? Yes. Yes, it was.
Ivan Locke is a good man, with a good job that he’s good at, and a good life. That is, until it isn’t. Throughout the course of the film, you see this man’s life get worse and worse as the audience is filled in with each painful detail. I went from liking the man for being so good at his job, to hating him for some of his choices, to, in the end, feeling unsure about him. This incredibly human character displays the fact that people are much more complicated than the “good” or “bad” guys that we’re used to seeing on the screen.
This film was a beautiful reminder that great storytelling can make even the most ordinary of tasks (i.e. driving) into an entertaining film that was a pleasure to watch. Exploring themes such as the human experience, right versus wrong, and the need to “do the right thing”, Locke is definitely worth watching. At the time of this writing, it’s currently available on Hulu.
Have you seen Locke? What did you think of it?
Though we didn’t review this one on the podcast, you can listen to other episodes of The Strategic Whimsy Experiment, including our recent review of Glass, here: https://apple.co/2DH63Vv.
