How is it that a movie featuring only one actor in a car for 90 minutes is so darn captivating? Locke, the brainchild of writer/director Steven Knight, features just one man - Tom Hardy - on screen for the entirety of its runtime, who takes his place behind the wheel and doesn't shift. And yet thanks to Hardy's immensely dedicated and mesmerising performance, which pits him as a construction site foreman facing a personal crisis, Locke never lags. As the tension is maintained through a series of phone calls, we're left in a state of enrapture. It helps that Locke's calls are placed to a number of accomplished and talented British actors, such as Olivia Coleman, Tim Holland and Ruth Wilson, but the real star of the show is of course Hardy, who adopts a Welsh accent for what can be assumed are its lyrical capabilities. To say too much of the plot is to give the movie away, and here's one that is best enjoyed moment to moment, as Locke moves closer and closer towards a devastating realisation. Patience is required to appreciate this flick, but let it take hold of you; you won't regret it.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
