9. Locke
Runtime: 85 minutes Please forgive the following generalisation: today's movies are excruciatingly long. More-so than at any other time in post-Sound era filmmaking, audiences are expected to sit, buttocks numbing all the while, through overstuffed stories that look like the editor was asleep at the wheel. Steven Knight's taut, compelling Locke proudly displays how effective the "less is more" ethos can be. Flaunting it's brevity (85 minutes) and self-contained story (Tom Hardy is the only onscreen character and it all takes place inside his car), Locke plays out in real time, probably just as an extra "screw you" to conventional filmmaking. Hardy's performance isn't begging for an Oscar, in fact, he almost seems to go out of his way to under-act. There's no big whirl of emotions, there's no drastic changes in scenery. It's an exercise in subdued moviemaking, and one that manages to be engrossing despite its lack of flair.