Apart from about 20 seconds at the start, the entire film is shot in the confined space of a BMW drivers seat. There is only one physical actor & about 4 different camera shots. Tom Hardy plays Ivan Locke, he lives a successful life in Construction & is a dedicated family man. He is calm and collected and gives the impression that he is a man all about control. In the time it takes him to drive from Birmingham to London, his whole life changes, and you get to see how and why through various telephone calls on Bluetooth loudspeaker.
Tom Hardy gives a very convincing performance and shows everybody that he is not a one trick pony and he can adapt well to different roles and scenarios. With Tom Hardy being the only star of this movie he really needed to bring a powerful performance that the audience can connect to, and he did this successfully in my opinion. The director stated that he wanted to make something completely different and fresh for mainstream cinema, there are other films out similar to this but the ones I have seen don't match up to Locke. This does feel unique and I can appreciate how making a film of this style must be challenging to make it entertaining and keep its viewers hooked. The run time is about right and at just over 80 minutes it's relatively short but I think this helps.
This movie is slow paced, its one man talking on the phone for 80 minutes, so if this doesn't sound like something for you then avoid! I personally found it tense and gripping. The film didn't head in the direction I thought it would but this isn't a bad thing. It has its own unique feel and this is always something I welcome in a world of cinema that is so saturated with clichés and over told stories!
When the credits rolled it did leave me thinking about the movie and had me thinking it over in my head. It actually made me feel quite emotional, this is all down to Tom Hardy and his performance. It is hard to say anything else about this movie without giving key plot points away!
7/10
