Locke: 10 Reasons It's The Most Awesome Boring Film You'll Ever See

7. It's Excellent As A One-Man Study

As already made clear, Locke is a rational man. He sees his goal, makes a plan, and achieves it. From the backstory his family and peers give, this way of living has served him extremely well thus far €“ he's driving a nice car, has a good family and his work colleagues and acquaintances are prepared to go the extra mile for him, precisely because he's such a safe pair of hands. He's overwhelmingly rational, extremely logical, and €“ whisper it €“ a bit dull. To an extent, you can see why writer-director Stephen Knight gave him his surname, a surname he shares with the rational philosopher John Locke. Locke's beliefs that ideas picked up at infancy are the dominant influences in your life are echoed by his namesake €“ Ivan's driving to be with his in-labour mistress because he believes it integral that his child has a father figure from the off. He's doing this because his father was absent for his own formative years and wants to steer his lineage away from such decisions. There are lasting consequences €“ a very Lockean theory €“ and by being there from the beginning, personal and professional life be damned, Ivan can impose some sense of order onto a terrible situation. It's cleverly done, and of course, it isn't as simple as that. While Ivan's tied up in his ideas of duty €“ to his mistress, his job and his family €“ he's still only human, and his life is falling apart. As such, we get to see cracks in the facade all the time €“ though he presumably fixes the concrete pour, his own family isn't won over as easily by his reasoning and promises, and his wife kicks him out. In the end, he's reliant on faith that he'll see his boys again, just saying to his youngest €“ and against all logical reason €“ that he'll see him again. He doesn't know this, and he's pretending everything's normal, but it's killing him. You realise he's a flawed man, and that's what makes him so fascinating.