“Locke” is a must watch for each and every one who has a thing for the nocturnal and the dramatic. It is dramatic but yet represents life at its most raw and uncensored form as the movie portrays a man going beyond his means to do the right thing. He is seen to be driving away from his past something that he abhors and detests while simultaneously making decisions that would ensure that his life is never ever the same.
Steven Knight’s “Locke” is a thriller like no other. It does not have guns, blood or corpses. It has Ivan Locke, the movie’s central and the only on-screen character played by Tom Hardy, having conversations with his family members and colleagues over the phone as he is driving a car. The story unfolds through the conversations as Locke describes the dilemma that he is in.
Locke is a construction supervisor at Birmingham. One night, he receives the news that a woman named Bethan with whom he had a one-night-stand is pregnant and is prematurely due to give birth in London. Locke decides to drive to London to be with Bethan. The very next day he is supposed to supervise a project that is one of the largest in Europe and in the world. His wife, Katrina, and two sons are waiting for him at home. They were supposed to watch a football match together and are absolutely unaware of Bethan’s existence.
As Locke drives his car, he calls his wife to let her know about his purpose of visit to London. Katrina does not believe him. She laughs it off as a joke but the cold voice of Locke makes her laughs heavier and heavier until she is crying like a child in no time. Katrina hangs up on Locke. Locke talks with his colleagues simultaneously with Katrina who are furious at him for not being able to be present at the site the next day. He assures them that he will see the project through and make necessary arrangements through phone calls. However, his superior decides to fire him regardless.
In between all these, Locke takes a look at his back seat at times where he assumes his father is seating. His father was not present at time of his birth and nor in his childhood. He talks about digging up his father from the earth and show him how he was doing the right thing, facing his problems like a man.
The movie is not about fancy cinematography or animation. It is about storytelling at its very best. Tom Hardy proves that as an actor he is a lot more than about playing gangsters and buff villains. His dark humor and urgency to do the “right thing” will keep you hooked to your screens. His anger while talking to his father was realistic and visible to the point that you would almost start seeing an outline of a figure at the backseat of the car for it is almost impossible to talk to someone imaginary with such emotions.
“Locke” is a story of a personal vendetta. It’s about a man on a mission to find “practical next step” who is driving away from his ghosts of the past.
Al Wasee M Fahimuddaula
Executive Editor