Director: Steven Knight
Tom Hardy’s rise to fame came with a series of gripping, intense performances in films like Bronson, Warrior, and The Dark Knight Rises. He’s a thespian in a bodybuilder’s skin. Locke is a complete transformation from what he’s done previous. It’s a role defined by his gentility–although the film is about a man’s life coming unhinged, Hardy almost completely ignores his talent for exploding into a fury, save for a handful of key moments. Taking place entirely within the confines of a car, Hardy plays a man who is driving to a hospital to take care of a personal responsibility and on the way is bombarded with a series of phone calls that threaten his job security and his marriage. It’s a self-imposed sabotage, but to Ivan Locke (Hardy) its a necessary moral step. Director Steven Knight keeps the material visually dynamic with a number of cross-fades and blurred traffic lights. It’s both a stylish presentation of the challenging single-location setting and a nice evocation of the numbing, even hallucinatory practice of a lengthy late-night drive.
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