It is said somewhere that simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication. It's one of these nice theory that is almost never put into practice in fiction, because it goes against our primary creative instincts of seeking inspiration in the grandiose and the emotional. An author or a screenwriting needs to establish a relationship to his craft before even thinking of creating something good, simple fiction. I would call the film LOCKE sophisticated. I wouldn't say it's groundbreaking, it could've been a stage play, but the precision of its vision and the boldness of its approach are commendable. It's not easy to shoot an eighty minutes film entirely inside a car that works, but LOCKE manages to pull it off by keeping focused and not drawing outside the lines.
Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) is the only character you'll see on screen in the movie and the entire movie happens over the phone, while he's driving. I can already hear you laughing at me. Don't click on the white X on top right of your browser, yet. LOCKE is a movie that lives and dies by its screenplay. It's quite strong, if a little classicist. Locke is a manager on construction sites and on the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, he receives a phone call that'll threaten his job, his family and his future, so he hits the road, convinced that it's the right thing to do. He has a little over ninety minutes and a hands free phone system in his car to fix this issue looming over him, decide what legacy he wants to leave and make peace with some old ghosts.
Let's talk about the elephant in the room first: that screenplay. Tom Hardy delivers an inspired (but not transcendent) interpretation in LOCKE, but the movie really would just be eighty minutes of Hardy driving on the freeway and talking to people on the phone if the screenplay didn't have any legs. The simplicity and the irony of LOCKE, a story about a builder with bad foundation witnessing his life coming undone, reminded me of Dostoevsky novels more than anything contemporary. It's a domestic drama without the melodramatic scene, almost without any tears, too. There is a definite argument that could be made that LOCKE is about God and the original sin. Ivan Locke the character, is original, but the screenplay conveys rather conventional ideas. It's why execution also matters in the algorithm of the movie.
Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) is the only character you'll see on screen in the movie and the entire movie happens over the phone, while he's driving. I can already hear you laughing at me. Don't click on the white X on top right of your browser, yet. LOCKE is a movie that lives and dies by its screenplay. It's quite strong, if a little classicist. Locke is a manager on construction sites and on the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, he receives a phone call that'll threaten his job, his family and his future, so he hits the road, convinced that it's the right thing to do. He has a little over ninety minutes and a hands free phone system in his car to fix this issue looming over him, decide what legacy he wants to leave and make peace with some old ghosts.
Let's talk about the elephant in the room first: that screenplay. Tom Hardy delivers an inspired (but not transcendent) interpretation in LOCKE, but the movie really would just be eighty minutes of Hardy driving on the freeway and talking to people on the phone if the screenplay didn't have any legs. The simplicity and the irony of LOCKE, a story about a builder with bad foundation witnessing his life coming undone, reminded me of Dostoevsky novels more than anything contemporary. It's a domestic drama without the melodramatic scene, almost without any tears, too. There is a definite argument that could be made that LOCKE is about God and the original sin. Ivan Locke the character, is original, but the screenplay conveys rather conventional ideas. It's why execution also matters in the algorithm of the movie.
There's a lot of Tom Hardy in the car. A LOT.
LOCKE remains straightforward and bare for its entirety, and it plays in its favor. Simple movies also are the easier to build cohesively. It exploits the lonely feeling of nighttime orange and black lighting in urban areas. Ivan Locke navigates in a concrete oblivion, trying to find the bearing of his life. It doesn't feel stale or repetitive, because it is banking on your empathy for a strong character. Half of your viewing will be spent in your own mind, imagining the scenes Locke imagines from the scrapes he can get over the phone. LOCKE also relies on the human instinct of forming and completing narratives which they are exposed to. It thinks outside the box in order to ease the viewer into the bareness of its concept and force is to admit, it kind of work.
So yeah, LOCKE is a sophisticated movie. I'd even call it an emotional experience of some sort. It's such an intimate movie, though, it feels like watching a stage play and it might be where the legacy of LOCKE is headed. I think it would have more potential in the intimacy of a theater, with the inimitable organicness of live play. It's a bold and original movie that is ultimately prisoner of its own choices. If you don't empathize with Ivan Locke from the get-go, it'll turn into a bad case of ''I want my fucking money back''. There aren't enough of this kind of movies though, who aren't trying to manipulate the reader and empowers them to take a moral stance over their characters. LOCKE travels a dark and narrow corridor, but it manages its way to the other end safely.
So yeah, LOCKE is a sophisticated movie. I'd even call it an emotional experience of some sort. It's such an intimate movie, though, it feels like watching a stage play and it might be where the legacy of LOCKE is headed. I think it would have more potential in the intimacy of a theater, with the inimitable organicness of live play. It's a bold and original movie that is ultimately prisoner of its own choices. If you don't empathize with Ivan Locke from the get-go, it'll turn into a bad case of ''I want my fucking money back''. There aren't enough of this kind of movies though, who aren't trying to manipulate the reader and empowers them to take a moral stance over their characters. LOCKE travels a dark and narrow corridor, but it manages its way to the other end safely.