Locke

Outside of Locke, Steven Knight was the writer and director behind the ambitious but somewhat sympathetically infantile Hummingbird, starring Jason Statham, whose central motif was once again man, his principles, ineffable cyclicality, and the surrounding world, which is the enemy. The screenplay for Locke is basically brilliant, and I'll give a nipple for the fact that it was written in the introduction that film databases of the world would call the genre a thriller, of which it has some of the parameters (the action takes place almost in real time, a protagonist removed from his environment, dealing with hostility all around), but otherwise it's a pure drama about how a basically systematic protagonist decides to take an unexpected step and pragmatically carries it out according to his principles and procedures. It's terribly easy to keep a relative distance from Locke thanks to its ambition and an ending that few will probably find satisfying, except that you sort of have to admit that this is a genuinely bold move from director Steven Knight, comparable to the central character's struggle for his perceived soul. (09/22/2014)

A road movie with a depressing aftertaste. Hardy and his BMW never leave the screen and just watching the suffering in the face of the former is worth it. A self-confident person slips slowly into being a mental wreck, but you don’t find out if he goes over the edge until the end. One mistake, one road, one bad day. Donald, don’t trust God when it comes to concrete! (08/04/2014)

Hardy just needs to be placed in a car, given a quality script, and he will conjure up a minimalist acting concert for you through phone calls that will slowly wrap you around his finger. Ivan Locke loses everything he has built during a single - not even two-hour - drive (literally). I enjoyed slowly figuring out what kind of person Ivan really is. Although I found him quite likable - especially through phone calls where he discussed matters related to the upcoming massive construction project involving concrete pouring - I rather empathized with the people in his closest circle (wife, children, "mistress") whom he manipulated without fully realizing that he was doing many things wrong. Instead, he lied to himself, convincing himself that he had only made one mistake, and even for noble reasons. But the world is not black and white, and his character is too complex to unequivocally say whether he is a good or bad person. And that's why Locke feels so real and convincing. (06/18/2018)

The thriller label that Filmbooster and IMBD gave to Locke generates the wrong expectations. I waited pretty long for those family and work phone calls to be interrupted by some extortionist or psychopath who would terrorise the protagonist over the phone. Yet, to my surprise, nobody like that called and the entire film stayed with the work and family calls. But it wasn’t boring even for a second, which must be credited to all interested parties. (08/02/2014)

Imagine a movie that takes place in a car and it has a single character whom you watch for the entire hour and a half. I can’t help but be happy with the result, because Tom Hardy delivered a great performance. Steven Knight, in turn, did a great job directing this movie so I was on tenterhooks the entire time, bating my breath and wondering how easy it is to mess up your entire life. (12/19/2014)