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

6. There's No Real Ending

As already established, we don't ever leave Locke's car once the door shuts. The whole thing is set around Locke solving the problems caused by his impromptu drive down to Croydon, as he attempts to knock through professional and personal obstacles of his own creation. The film's driving force is Ivan attempting to keep multiple plates spinning €“ soothing the in-labour Bethan, building bridges with his wife and reassuring his sons that there's nothing wrong, as well as thrashing out the logistics on a looming concrete pour. It's a huge undertaking, but such is Locke's rational, preternaturally calm demeanour that he's up to the challenge, and manages to impress a sense of order onto an expanding and chaotic mess. Even when unexpected problems rear their head, he's able to smooth things out, and you're left feeling optimistic that things might turn out ok for him. However, there's no concrete (very sorry) ending, as the film just ends after the baby's born. Locke himself isn't even at the hospital €“ he's close, but he's still driving, and we don't ever get to see him with his new child. Similarly, we don't actually know if Donal's able to pull off the concrete pour, and we certainly don't know whether Locke will smooth things over with his rightfully distraught wife. Hell, we don't even know when he's going to see his kids again. In a way, this is the best possible ending for the film €“ real life is messy and doesn't hand you conclusions wrapped up with a neat little bow. If Knight had pushed for an overwhelmingly positive ending, it would've rang false, as everything up to this point has been so crushingly, depressingly realistic in terms of cause and effect. Of course fathering a child behind your wife's back would get you thrown out. Of course abandoning your post on the biggest night of your professional life would get you the sack. And of course your kids would be aware, but in denial about the whole situation. Giving Locke a magical way out would undo all the good work the film had managed up to that point, so you've got to praise Knight for sticking to his guns and making the ending just as realistic as everything else. Sure, a baby's born, but nothing else is solved, and presumably won't be solved for a long while.