(This is Locke film review, which is a British drama film that only shows 1 actor for the whole movie)
Have you ever watched a film that takes place in real time, and only shows one man and his car throughout the film? Because Locke is exactly that but executed in such a unique way that it actually makes it stand out in some ways.
It is directed by Stephen Knight, and stars only Tom Hardy on screen, with other people’s voices from Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott, Ben Daniels, Tom Holland, and Bill Milner. Without further ado, let’s delve into the Locke film review below!
Premise
When a man who was working a construction company had to travel all the way to London from the north of United Kingdom to be with Bethan, a colleague who he had a one-night stand with seven months ago, for her childbirth. He had to shoulder the responsibility of guilt as well as his job responsibilities as life seemed to crash around him at the same time. How would he overcome this…or could he overcome it in the first place?
Locke Film Review
Premise
The premise by itself is actually not original and could be said to be quite mundane and uninteresting. But don’t get me wrong, for this movie has managed to execute such premise brilliantly, as it transforms events that happens in real time into a film that will grip you from the beginning till the end. It’s a movie that depicts reality and also staying faithfully in it.
In fact, there are not much dramatisation that we usually see in the drama genre. Everything takes place in real time, and is so real that it feels relatable. It is as though you are watching a live stream of someone driving for an hour and a half talking on the phone with other people. And yet it’s a masterpiece by itself, for the execution of the film is so well done, that I felt this movie moved me to sympathise much more with the characters than other films in this genre that relies on the cliché dramatic scenes.
Everything takes place in real time, and is so real that it feels relatable
The connection of events from his job to his family become the driver of the story, as it made the audience wonder if he could overcome it and fix everything back to normal. For secretly, I believe, that we all hoped that we could do just that if the same things happened to us in real life.
The ending itself seems to represent something akin to this: do you choose a home that rejects you from your mistake, or do you go to the home that welcomes you and yet you don’t feel like you belong to it? It’s a question that is actually quite deep and this movie makes me think (and feel) that the film actually depicts life at its worst and most beautiful.
Pacing
The pacing is surprisingly great, to the point that I hardly feel like it’s being draggy or that I felt like checking the time. In fact, I was engrossed in it from the start till the end. This just shows how great the pacing is, for each event comes in and then intersect with one another to form a complex yet very relatable tale of real life.
for each event comes in and then intersect with one another to form a complex yet very relatable tale of real life.
Characters
There are a few characters, but only Tom Hardy is shown on screen throughout the whole film. And damn did he do a fine job of a man who tried to take responsibilities but was handled by guilt and cruelties of life despite his intention to fix everything. I could feel from the way he talked on the phone, and the way he drove that there was sadness within, and then it was mixed with regret, as well as a small hope that everything would turn out alright.
It’s such a relatable feeling that it made me sympathise for him, and then continuing to be engrossed in the film as he tried to solve the problems one by one. Tom Hardy just had that talent as an exceptional actor to bring out truthful emotion from his character. Aside from the main character, other characters such as Donal, his former colleague who was helping to cover for him in a super important project, Bethan, the one-night stand partner, and Katrina, his wife, these three gave a wonderful performance as well to stand out and also made it memorable, just by using their voice.
They were able to give clear images of how they looked and behave like from the way they communicated with the main character, and each of them truly stood out as major characters in the film, despite never appearing on screen at all. One notable mention went to Tom Holland, who was portraying the older son, no wonder I felt that his voice sounded familiar.
these three gave a wonderful performance as well to stand out and also made it memorable, just by using their voice.
Soundtrack
There are not much soundtrack but traffic sound mostly, but the occasional mellow soundtrack played just added on to the feeling of loneliness of a man that seemed to be punished by the world for his wrongdoing, despite everything that that he tried to do to fix it. It just showed a reality of life, neither too much sadness or happiness, for they are always intertwined to create a life that is so complexingly beautiful and cruel at the same time.
![Hello World Film Review [ ハロー・ワールド] (2019) - Love Across Data](https://i1.wp.com/controllercompanies.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Hello-World-film-review-post-image-Controller-Companies-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=200%2C200)
![Matchless Mulan Film Review [无双花木兰] (2020) - The Better Mulan](https://i0.wp.com/controllercompanies.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Matchless-Mulan-film-review-post-image-Controller-Companies.jpg?fit=1004%2C808&ssl=1&resize=200%2C200)
