The idea of watching a man driving a car through the night for the entire duration of a film might seem on paper like the cinematic equivalent of watching paint dry, but when you realise that the man in question is played by Tom Hardy the prospect suddenly becomes far more appealing. Carrying an entire movie by yourself is tricky for any actor, but Hardy invests so much attention to detail in his performance that the running time flies by as smoothly as the asphalt beneath his car. Hardy plays the titular character, a hard working construction engineer heading a huge project in London who receives a call relating to a prior infidelity which has the capacity to transform his life for good. As he drives through the night to resolve his indiscretion he speaks to his colleagues and family and struggles to keep in order his rapidly unraveling life. The great achievement for Locke is in its refusal to overly dramatize the events - this is a slow burning character study in which the drama subtly unfolds, and further proof (if it was needed) that Tom Hardy is a formidable actor.
