Movie Parliament
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • This House
  • Articles
  • Foreign Affairs
    • Cannes 2017
    • Cannes2016
    • 2016 Oscars Predictions
    • 2015 César Awards
    • 2014 César Awards
    • 2014 French Bloggers Awards
    • Top10 2014
    • 2013 César Awards
    • 2013 Cannes Coverage
    • European Film Awards 2012
    • (50) Films of Summer
    • 2012 Cannes Coverage
    • 2011 César Awards
    • 2011 Cannes Coverage
  • Film History
    • Classic Films
    • Cult Movies
    • Foreign Masterpieces
  • Awards
    • Awards Decade 2011-2020
    • Awards2020
    • Awards2019
    • Awards2018
    • Awards2017
    • Awards2016
    • Awards2015
    • Awards 2014
    • Awards 2013
    • Awards 2012
    • Awards 2011 >
      • FYC - Best 2011 Film
  • Top 50 of the Decade
    • 2009
    • 2008
    • 2007
    • 2006
    • 2005
    • 2004
    • 2003
    • 2002
    • 2001
    • 2000
  • Summer Movie Wager
  • 2018 Most Anticipated

Locke

9/30/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Writer & Director: Stephen Knight 
Starring: Tom Hardy, Olivia Colman, and Ruth Wilson 

Review Written By: Michael Dalton 
I’d watch him/her read the phonebook, is an expression commonly used in critical circles in regards to the actors and actresses we find the most charismatic and commanding. However in reality, most of those who receive such praise, would fail to hold our attention for more than a few minutes if they were doing so. Yet in, ‘Locke’, Tom Hardy gives a performances that suggests he very well could carry a film that consisted solely of him reading the phonebook, making his performance in this film what that expression was made for, and him arguably the only actor who it can truly be used in association with.

I’d like to see what I’m going to call, ‘The Locke Test’ initiated in cinema. Have every single actor and actress be in this film, and see whether they’re up to the task. Locke is a film that takes place almost entirely within the confines of a car. It never flashes back, it never cuts away. It is just one man and the various phone calls he has whilst driving from one destination to the other. Over the course of the film’s running time, and his journey, the life he knew slowly devolves and crumbles before his ears, as phone call after phone call unravels his secrets, faults, and ambitions. The one location, one actor, dialogue driven film is nothing new and is one of my favourite sub-genres. However Locke is one of its crowning achievements and what I found to be one of the more exciting and inspirational films of 2014.

As alluded to earlier, the motor at the heart of this film is Tom Hardy. Whilst making a name for himself playing muscular beasts of men in films such as Bronson, Warrior, and The Dark Knight Rises, in this Tom Hardy demonstrates his range, playing a man who is much more righteous and timid than his previous characters. Sporting a Welsh accent that at first distracts yet you eventually forget about, Tom Hardy is a world away from the backbreaking villainy of Batman. The film rests on his performance and he is able to keep you invested in this story from beginning to end.

However it is important to remember that despite him being the only one on screen, his performance is not the only one of the film. With various actors on the other end of the phone, like an animated film, Locke boasts a variety of voice performances, all of which help you become accustomed to but also forget about the film’s confined set-up. The always-brilliant Olivia Colman particularly stands out as the woman who in many ways instigates everything happening on the film’s evening. Steven Knight ingeniously and inspiringly made the film in such a way which meant that Tom Hardy was reacting to all these phone calls live, giving the film a degree of realism and intensity it may had lacked if the other voices had been added in before or after the fact.

Steven Knight deserves credit through demonstrating with both his writing and directing that in film you have the power to make anything thrilling. Locke is a film that finds genuine tension from conversations about cement pouring. Yes, conversations about cement pouring had me tenser than many scenes from this summer’s blockbusters.

Overall Locke is a simple yet incredibly effective film, which in its own confined way demonstrates the power of cinema. A short and satisfying journey which provides further evidence that Tom Hardy is one of the finest actors working today. 

Picture
Movie Parliament Rating: MAJORITY GOVERNMENT

By Movie Parliament Prime Minister, 
Michael Dalton 

Disagree with this review? Give us your thoughts in the comments below. 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Authors

    Movie Parliament Prime Minister: Michael Dalton

    Minister for Foreign Affairs: Arnaud Trouve

    Minister for History: Leonhard Balk

    Archives

    March 2019
    October 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    January 2016
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    December 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    Brad Pitt
    Chris Hemsworth
    Dredd
    Film Review
    Gangster Film
    Kristen Stewart
    New Release
    Sci Fi
    Sci-fi

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.