LockeIs it better or worse to own the consequences of your choices at the expense of others? Locke is the story of an architect named Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy), who has a loving family, a successful job, and is respected by his peers. An uncharacteristic night of infidelity many months ago leads to the woman he slept with, Bethan (Olivia Colman), on the verge of giving birth to Ivan's son. Ivan could easily neglect his obligation to attend the birth, but makes a hard choice which costs him everything he has built up over the years, under the auspices of doing what is right. But is it right?
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Locke is a "road movie" in a literal sense of the word, set almost exclusively within the cabin of Ivan's BMW X5 as he makes the long highway trip to London to see Bethan. Ivan is the only character seen by the audience; every other character is represented by a disembodied voice, heard through the hands-free phone kit in his car. The challenge in an experimental drama like Locke comes from conveying a range of emotions from the rest of the cast--all the audience has to go on are their reactions to his out-of-character decision. The mise-en-scène in Locke comes down to shots of Ivan driving, the exterior of the car on the motorway, and the reflections of street lights and headlights in the windows of his car. The central conflict comes from abandoning one's responsibilities out of convenience or fear, or charging headlong to uphold one's principles, regardless of the cost. The defining moment in Locke comes at the very beginning of the film; Locke delays at a stoplight, and then changes his turn signal. Despite how easily he could shirk his responsibility to Bethan--a woman he claims he does not love, but pitied in her loneliness seven months ago--he cannot bear the thought of walking in his late father's footsteps, whom he curses as though his specter were haunting the backseat of his car. Locke berates this subconscious figment of his father for abandoning him until he was in his early twenties, then coming back and thinking all would be forgiven. Ivan has made a vow to never end up like his dad, which is the real motivation behind his dramatic and untimely choice to travel to London and subsequently confess his failings to his wife, Katrina (Ruth Wilson), and his boss, Gareth (Ben Daniels)--whom his caller ID registers as "Bastard". Ivan makes his confessions early on, not hiding the root cause behind abandoning his family and job at crucial moments--and he pays the price. Gareth tells him that--despite his tenure--he has been fired by the head office in Chicago. Ivan insists--out of pride or a sense of guilt--that he will continue to work with his colleague, Donal (Andrew Scott), over the phone through the night to ensure that the pouring of a historic concrete foundation for a skyscraper being built goes off without a hitch...or rather without any more hitches.
Ivan makes repeated proclamations that he is attempting to do the right thing, yet there is the inescapable sense that his motives are selfish. Locke is consumed with hatred for his father, spewing venom at him in effigy and wishing he could "dig up his corpse" to prove that he is different, willing to sacrifice everything for honor. Ivan's motivations are always in question; he claims that his transgression was the result of being away from home for months on a project with Betham--his assistant at the time--who confessed her loneliness over a couple of bottles of wine. He has a reputation for self-control, characterized by his almost soporifically neutral tone of voice and history of completing projects without fail. Ivan claims he does not love Betham--to her and his wife; that it happened suggests that he never really had control in the first place, or that he is lying. He bursts out into anger in moments of private frustration, but uses his mellow conversational tone to diffuse the inherent tension of the proverbial carpet bombing he performs on his domestic and professional life with others. He ultimately tells his wife about his infidelity over the phone, and claims that he was "going to tell her", except that Betham's water broke early. This forces him to abandon watching a football game with his son, Eddie (Tom Holland), despite having promised to share this moment with him. When he calls Donal to tell him that he will need to stay all night at the work site to do Ivan's job for him, Ivan's colleague believes it's a joke at first, becoming understandably angry when he realizes it is not. Ivan's life comes undone with each kilometer en route to London; the sound of "you have a call waiting" becomes a needling reminder of the mess he has made of his life in the span of only a couple of hours. He is always trying to maintain control, despite his actions being singularly responsible for the unfolding chaos. His nigh-monotone manner of speech is borderline patronizing and the comments he makes about the traffic being "okay" are only meant to stabilize his own shuddering unease and distress--he's even coming down with a cold. Despite his rage toward his dead father, this must conjure a degree of sympathy for him; Ivan discovers what it is to be ostracized from his family and work life because of his mistake, where his reputation is worthless. It is ironic that Ivan is essentially trapped in his vehicle as he puts out fire after fire--with varying degrees of success. The claustrophobic tension of having the walls closing in on him is amplified by being encased with a figurative metal coffin, racing along the rails, consigned to his inexorable trajectory.
Recommended for: Fans of a drama that explores themes of prioritizing responsibilities and accepting the consequences of poor judgment, no matter the cost. Locke establishes tension through the barrier that comes when we can't read the body language of others experiencing distress over the phone; the film focuses exclusively on Ivan's physical reactions instead, fostering empathy with the protagonist by default.
Ivan makes repeated proclamations that he is attempting to do the right thing, yet there is the inescapable sense that his motives are selfish. Locke is consumed with hatred for his father, spewing venom at him in effigy and wishing he could "dig up his corpse" to prove that he is different, willing to sacrifice everything for honor. Ivan's motivations are always in question; he claims that his transgression was the result of being away from home for months on a project with Betham--his assistant at the time--who confessed her loneliness over a couple of bottles of wine. He has a reputation for self-control, characterized by his almost soporifically neutral tone of voice and history of completing projects without fail. Ivan claims he does not love Betham--to her and his wife; that it happened suggests that he never really had control in the first place, or that he is lying. He bursts out into anger in moments of private frustration, but uses his mellow conversational tone to diffuse the inherent tension of the proverbial carpet bombing he performs on his domestic and professional life with others. He ultimately tells his wife about his infidelity over the phone, and claims that he was "going to tell her", except that Betham's water broke early. This forces him to abandon watching a football game with his son, Eddie (Tom Holland), despite having promised to share this moment with him. When he calls Donal to tell him that he will need to stay all night at the work site to do Ivan's job for him, Ivan's colleague believes it's a joke at first, becoming understandably angry when he realizes it is not. Ivan's life comes undone with each kilometer en route to London; the sound of "you have a call waiting" becomes a needling reminder of the mess he has made of his life in the span of only a couple of hours. He is always trying to maintain control, despite his actions being singularly responsible for the unfolding chaos. His nigh-monotone manner of speech is borderline patronizing and the comments he makes about the traffic being "okay" are only meant to stabilize his own shuddering unease and distress--he's even coming down with a cold. Despite his rage toward his dead father, this must conjure a degree of sympathy for him; Ivan discovers what it is to be ostracized from his family and work life because of his mistake, where his reputation is worthless. It is ironic that Ivan is essentially trapped in his vehicle as he puts out fire after fire--with varying degrees of success. The claustrophobic tension of having the walls closing in on him is amplified by being encased with a figurative metal coffin, racing along the rails, consigned to his inexorable trajectory.
Recommended for: Fans of a drama that explores themes of prioritizing responsibilities and accepting the consequences of poor judgment, no matter the cost. Locke establishes tension through the barrier that comes when we can't read the body language of others experiencing distress over the phone; the film focuses exclusively on Ivan's physical reactions instead, fostering empathy with the protagonist by default.