Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Locke Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 17, 2014

A number of relatively recent films like Phone Booth and Buried have exploited the conceit of a character confined to (or in some cases literally trapped in) one location. Even the redoubtable Alfred Hitchcock flirted with this same idea in Lifeboat (and to a lesser extent in Rope and even arguably Rear Window). But there has probably never been quite so audacious an effort in this peculiar niche of filmmaking than Steven Knight’s Locke. With a “high concept” that sounds downright deadly on paper, Locke details a two hour or so drive by Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) from a construction site in Birmingham to London where he’s desperate to get to some kind of appointment. Aside from just a second or two here or there, the entire film is nothing but Locke in his car, driving through the shrouded nighttime countryside while he engages in several phone conversations courtesy of his BMW’s Bluetooth audio system. Can a film possibly wreak anything other than deadly boredom out of such a premise? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is a resounding yes, for Locke turns out to be a journey definitely worth taking, one that manages to deliver a rather unexpected amount of tension and drama and which provides Hardy with the opportunity to deliver a tour de force performance that is relegated almost entirely to his face and voice.

There’s the phenomenon known as the “sophomore slump” that often attends artistic pursuits in any number of media, but Steven Knight, whose previous directorial effort was the really interesting if flawed Jason Statham vehicle Redemption, casts any doubts about his writing and directing prowess firmly by the wayside throughout Locke. (Knight is more than a mere sophomore with regard to screenplays, having previously penned Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises.) What frankly could have been a mere gimmick is an organic experience in the film, with Locke’s button down world slowly unraveling during the course of his drive. Knight maintains rigorous control—for the most part, anyway—over both the technical logistics of providing enough visual variety to a film confined mostly to the front seat of a car, as well as the more important dramatic momentum generated by a series of revelations about Locke and why he’s making the journey.

It takes about 15 minutes or so for Locke to finish setting up its unique premise. After a brief shot of a construction site (about the only extra-vehicle shot in the film, other than scenes of traffic), we see a guy take off a set of construction overalls and boots and climb inside his BMW. He hesitates for a moment at a light and suddenly changes his mind, changing his turn signal from left to right. He leaves a message for someone named Bethan on his Bluetooth equipped phone, and then calls a guy named Donal (voice of Andrew Scott) to inform him that he, Donal, is going to need to supervise a huge cement pouring operation at the site. Donal completely freaks out and soon enough a manager named Gareth (voice of Ben Daniels) is reading this guy, a construction supervisor named Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy), the veritable riot act. But in the meantime Bethan (voice of Olivia Colman) has called back, and it’s apparent why Ivan changed courses at the beginning of the film—Bethan is pregnant and having his baby, and Ivan is rushing to London to be with her at the birth.

Within a few more calls (both incoming and outgoing), it becomes apparent how momentous this night truly is for Ivan. Bethan is not in fact his wife, but a one night stand he had the previous year during an extended stint away from his family. He does have a wife, a woman named Katrina (voiced by Ruth Wilson), who is understandably devastated to suddenly hear her husband is on the way to attend the birth of a child he sired in an affair. Ivan actually has two (legitimate) children by Katrina, and all they want to talk to their dad about is that evening’s big soccer match. It’s an obvious disconnect, but a very real feeling one. Meanwhile it's revealed that the site Ivan has left in the lurch is not just some little high rise but the biggest concrete pour in the history of Europe outside of nuclear or military projects.

This completely odd combination of personal and professional crises would seem to be almost intentionally off putting. If someone were to tell you that a film had a major element involving a gargantuan concrete pour, would you be running to your local cineplex (and/or your online home video retailer) to see it? If the roiling relationships between Ivan and Katrina and Ivan and Bethan are the more traditional dramatic aspect to the film (even if they’re presented in the resolutely unusual way of having Hardy be the only on screen performer), the professional side of things actually provides a surprising amount of compelling content, nicely tying into the overall point that Ivan, a man accustomed to absolute order, sees his former life pretty much go up in smoke with one quick decision to change his turn signal.

Despite a mostly error free journey, Locke does take a few unnecessary detours. The most egregious one involves Ivan’s relationship with his own father, something that plays into why he wants to be at the birth of this unplanned child. There are a couple of problems with this, however. The most obvious one is how Knight constructs Ivan’s dialogues with his father. Instead of having his Dad be another one of the callers, he’s a spectral entity in the back seat of the car with whom Ivan engages in heated exchanges. But there’s a more subtle issue here as well, at least for those who think about it for a moment. Ivan’s decision ties into his desire not to repeat the errors his father made with him, but the film has already shown us that Ivan is a completely commendable father with his two children by Katrina. If he’s overcome his father’s legacy already, why all the histrionics about this new kid, other than that it’s illegitimate and threatening the sanctity of his marriage?

Knight’s writing here can’t quite escape the innate theatricality of the premise and presentation, but even the clunkiest moments are sold by Hardy and the wonderful voice cast. Hardy is at the top of his game here, and while this film had some festival premieres in 2013, it appears that its American debut was in 2014, so I would be very surprised not to see the actor among the final five finalists in next year’s Oscar sweepstakes. This is not a showy performance by any stretch of the imagination, but in fact its emotional reserve is one of its most remarkable accomplishments. Knight’s directorial acumen is more sure footed, and the film is surprisingly brisk despite being anchored in a car and playing out in real time. Too often these so-called “high concept” offerings play like the brainchilds of filmmakers who may have in fact been high when they came up with their idea. Locke provides sensational drama and brilliant character nuance in one of the most unusual presentations in recent memory. Locke may indeed be high concept, but it’s surprisingly deep.

Locke Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Locke is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. As is detailed in both the featurette and commentary included on this Blu-ray as supplements, Knight caught the car footage with a battery of Red Epic cameras mounted within the vehicle (which was itself mounted to a low rider truck platform—Hardy is not actually driving). The Red cameras have had a lot of press for the range of frequencies they can capture, and that's put to the test here, for the film takes place entirely in shrouded nighttime settings within the dark interior confines of Ivan's BMW. The bulk of the film features various midrange and close up shots of Ivan's head and chest, and often they're bathed in a kind of sickly yellow, supposedly from the ubiquitous streetlights. That tends to make the palette here rather jaundiced, and about the only time some variety comes into play is when Knight and DP Haris Zambarloukos offer almost abstract views of passing traffic, views which are often nothing more than pointillistic assemblages of lights. Shadow detail is acceptable if not overly profound, but black levels are excellent, helping to surround Ivan with an ominous sense of darkness. There are no stability or artifacting issues to mention. This presentation never really pops in any meaningful way, but it offers good clarity and sharpness.

Locke Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Locke's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is surprisingly immersive, with passing traffic panning through the side channels and Dickon Hinchliffe's cool, minimalist music pulsing through the surround channels (Hinchliffe was a member of Tindersticks). All voices are clear, though some of the phone work sounds appropriately boxy and narrow.

Locke Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Steven Knight. Knight provides a low key but interesting commentary that talks about his inspiration for the film (nothing more profound than watching the lights of traffic pass by), and some of the technical challenges of the shoot.


• Ordinary Unraveling: Making Locke (1080p; 9:37) is a decent EPK with some good interviews and a few brief scenes showing some of the techniques they used to capture the car footage.

Locke Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Locke could have easily devolved into pure gimmickry, but despite some overly theatrical missteps by Knight (the writer), Knight (the director) manages to keep things moving in the right direction almost all of the time. Despite the pure technical ingenuity required to pull this off, the film benefits from an absolutely riveting performance by Tom Hardy. Technical merits here are very strong, given the understanding of the strictures of the film and intentions of the filmmakers. Highly recommended.