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Locke 15 rating

Tom Hardy commands the screen as the only star of Steven Knight’s bold, mesmeric drama, which is set entirely in a car and unfolds in real time.

Drama 2014 85 mins

Director: Steven Knight

CC

Overview

Tom Hardy is superb in this bold and mesmeric drama from Steven Knight (writer of Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things), commanding the screen as the titular character whose personal crisis unfolds in real-time during a chastening car journey.

Charged with the responsibility of ensuring the sound foundations of huge architectural constructions, structural engineer Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) is as solid as the concrete he pours for living. For ten years he has built a reputation as a highly respected professional and as a fiercely loved father and husband. On the eve of a career-crowning moment we follow Ivan’s journey driving from Wales to London, and see how one mistake has caused his hitherto firmly focused and controlled life to solely and completely fall apart. Both Ivan’s brute determination to regain control over his life and his stubborn refusal to engage fully with the emotional reality, and combined perfectly in Hardy’s taut performance. Steven Knight’s direction, too, is as resolutely Spartan as his central character. Shot in its entirety over eight days, and never leaving the interior of his car, Knight’s film nevertheless succeeds in creating a gripping atmosphere of tightly wound tension.

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