Locke

The thriller label that Filmbooster and IMBD gave to Locke generates the wrong expectations. I waited pretty long for those family and work phone calls to be interrupted by some extortionist or psychopath who would terrorise the protagonist over the phone. Yet, to my surprise, nobody like that called and the entire film stayed with the work and family calls. But it wasn’t boring even for a second, which must be credited to all interested parties. (02/08/2014)

Imagine a movie that takes place in a car and it has a single character whom you watch for the entire hour and a half. I can’t help but be happy with the result, because Tom Hardy delivered a great performance. Steven Knight, in turn, did a great job directing this movie so I was on tenterhooks the entire time, bating my breath and wondering how easy it is to mess up your entire life. (20/12/2014)

The line between happiness and damnation can be dangerously fragile. Nothing groundbreaking, but nevertheless unique in the way it presents to the viewer the theme of the total inner disintegration of a balanced personality; from the first person, in the closed world of one car, where the work and personal lines of a major life transition collide over the phone, changing the protagonist's life from hour to hour. The conversations are well-written and give ample space to portray the psychological and emotional levels of Tom Hardy, whose performance again beautifully complements the depressing narrative tone and adds an unadorned authenticity to everything. (01/02/2017)

A road movie with a depressing aftertaste. Hardy and his BMW never leave the screen and just watching the suffering in the face of the former is worth it. A self-confident person slips slowly into being a mental wreck, but you don’t find out if he goes over the edge until the end. One mistake, one road, one bad day. Donald, don’t trust God when it comes to concrete! (04/08/2014)

An excellent solo performance by Tom Hardy, who drives a car for 90 minutes and no one but him appears in the film. His life is falling apart, his mistress is giving birth, his disgraced wife is crying and vomiting, and 218 trucks are supposed to bring him as much concrete in nine hours as is needed for the largest concrete construction in the history of Europe. The dialogues take place on the level of gradually escalating telephone calls and are excellent (on the other hand, Hardy's monologues are slightly stilted and not as interesting). Formally, it's a bit like the film Buried (which entirely takes place in a coffin for a change). Director and screenwriter Steven Knight was able to handle a difficult topic extremely well, and with the small space given to him he played out a fully functional and realistic drama that is a lot of fun the entire time (and has its funny moments). (05/07/2014)