Matt Micucci offers a compelling review of Locke, a masterclass in minimalist tension.
Imagine the pitch. One man in a car, conversing on the phone for almost an hour and a half about family and… concrete. It doesn’t sound too exciting, does it? But that is another reason why Locke is ultimately so powerful. Stripping domestic drama of frills and frocks or soap-operatic frolicking brings it back to purifying and incredibly rewarding basics in a way that has perhaps never been explored — or at least never so rewardingly. That is the driving force behind Steven Knight’s ambitious thriller drama. However, the real feat of Locke is the way in which its quasi-experimental, minimalistic suit actually ends up being quite gripping and very entertaining.
This is the story of the titular character Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy), a Welshman working in the concrete business, who will neither be going home to watch a football match with his family tonight nor be able to supervise a major concrete pour taking place tomorrow for the building of a new massive London skyscraper. Locke, in fact, has to make his way down to St Mary’s Hospital, where Bethan, a woman who is not his wife — is giving birth to his child.
At the screening of his film at the 57th BFI London Film Festival, director Steven Knight himself described the film as a ‘radio play with cameras’. This particular description may initially seem a little self-deprecating. Yet those cameras are Red Epics, and they do a wonderful job in intensifying the atmosphere in the claustrophobic setting of a car as it makes its way to St Mary’s Hospital through the darkness of the night — itself only broken up by the sudden, menacing glow of the streetlights. Furthermore, the statement also points out the fact that this film, which may seem like the ultimate vanity project for an actor, is also a wonderful vehicle for the man responsible for the screenplays of Stephen Frears’ Dirty Pretty Things and David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises.
Given the importance of dialogue in radio plays, it is important to note the sheer beauty of the dialogue here. This is not only because of the way it offers wonderful insight into the character of Ivan Locke, through the telephone conversations, but also through his Beckettian rants directed at his own dead father’s spirit, who may or may not be sitting at the back of his car. It is also because of the perhaps more difficult task of allowing the audience to put a face to the supporting characters he converses with through speakerphone, despite the fact that we never actually see them — the cameras never leave the restrictive setting of the car. For instance, Donal (Andrew Scott), as Ivan’s loyal junior colleague and suddenly his main man on the field, is asked to check that everything is in order for the big day tomorrow. This leads to some thrilling and even funny moments in the film. Equally standout is the character of Bethan (Olivia Colman), with her endless panic attacks and needy nature as she puts pressure on Ivan to hurry up. Furthermore, it has been quite rightly stated that Locke also offers the most exciting portrayal of concrete ever committed to the screen, the titular character seeing his work as a romantic mission and the skyscraper being built as a way of conquering a ‘piece of the sky’.
Of course, the film would not have worked without a great lead performance by Tom Hardy, the only face we see throughout the whole film. His performance comes across as tastefully restrained, never giving in to the selfish acting histrionics that could easily have made the film much less involving. Ivan Locke is, after all, determined in his own personal mission and convinced that he is making the right decision. Hence, apart from a few outbursts of rage and short, sudden fits of tantrum, Locke remains quite collected throughout — in fact, almost to the point of seeming stubborn and methodical. That is what Hardy provides: a collected performance that contrasts with a recent, similar turn by Ryan Reynolds, who was locked up in a coffin in Buried by Rodrigo Cortés.
In the end, Knight’s experiment works to perfection. The script-oriented suspense is thrilling and absorbing. There may not be any killers or dead bodies, yet the tension is quite Hitchcockian, one moment we follow Locke confessing his unfaithfulness to his wife, and the next we are thrown into the chaos of the concrete situation. All this results in a successful, nail-biting thriller drama with a relentless pace that is bound to set a new, credible cinematic standard.
Matt Micucci
