10 Potentially Awful 2014 Movies That Turned Out Great

6. Locke

Why it could have been awful: Setting an entire movie inside a car and featuring its sole occupant as the only character seen is a bold cinematic move by anyone's standards - and the potential for it to go wrong should be obvious. Such a tight focus is a hard thing to pull off in any medium and when it comes to film is potentially about as uncinematic as you can get, one which only a great script, exceptional performance and imaginative direction can rectify. Why it's great: Writer-director Steven Knight delivers a compelling yet understated portrait of an average man caught in the moment of making a life-changing decision and plays it in real time. Tom Hardy's central performance certainly proves that he's a great enough actor to sustain our interest for an entire film, and it's all the most impressive on account of how downplayed and subtle it is when compared to the larger than life performances for which he's best known. Locke turned out to be one of 2014's more unique and experimental movies.