Film: Locke

I was originally planning to see Locke last week, but then it slipped in IMDB ratings and I went to see Calvary instead. So it took me until today to work my way around to Locke again. Handily, it's showing in my local Vue cinema, which I can walk to - which means the Tube strike was only of passing interest to me today!

So I had a leisurely evening and strolled down to the cinema at around 10 to 9, the first showing of this film being at 9.15. Handed in my £1.50 voucher - which I've had for weeks, I haven't been here in a while - and got it straight back again. See, they always give you a voucher if you buy your ticket at the till, and this time they just gave me the same one back again. Very environmentally friendly of them!

I was first in - there were about half a dozen of us in the end, I guess. They had allocated me a seat, but really, you could sit wherever you liked - and I did. I like the seats in front of the aisle, with no seat in front of you - can't complain about that legroom!

Locke turned out to be a fascinating film. It's just a pity that I can't really tell you about it, because that would give the story away! I can tell you that "Locke" is the star character's surname, and that we see him at the beginning of the film, leaving a construction site, taking off his mucky boots and putting them in a plastic bag before climbing into his comfy BMW. We see him strapping on his seatbelt, and the display asking him to wait as Bluetooth is enabled. This will be significant. And then he drives off.

He's played by Tom Hardy, who plays Welsh in this but is English, and who's shown up in a whole heap of films I've seen, but I don't remember him from any of them. Well, I'll remember him from now on. You would be hard pressed not to - he's the only person - apart from a few extras without speaking parts - that actually appears in the entire film. See, he spends the entire film driving down the motorway, through the night, because he needs to be somewhere urgently. It's a long drive. Along the way, he has to make, and take, a large number of important phone calls. The people on the other end of the phone are the only other characters, and we never see them. Looking them up afterwards, I would have recognised a face or two, but not by voice.

And, um, there we have it. :-) So the film consists of him driving down the motorway, through the night, and ends at about the point where he pulls off of it. And along the way, he has lots of phone conversations.

Sounds fascinating, huh?

Well, it is. It's amazingly well done. The story is gradually revealed through the phone calls, and is completely gripping, while being not at all unbelievable. There are no drug heists in this, no car chases, no gangstas. This is quite an ordinary bloke, and he's not broken the law. But still, he's having what you might call an exciting evening. I was just afraid he'd crash, with all the distractions! But no, he's a careful driver too. The editing is superb, using the confusion of car lights in the dark to heighten the tension. The focus blurs from time to time, to remind us that he's tired. I had my hands in front of my face for a considerable portion of the film, and I don't often do that. And you really empathise when the person on the other end of the phone is distracted and not paying attention to an important message, or emotional and acting irrationally, or when he gets a phone call from someone listed in his address book as "bastard", who turns out to be his boss. And yes, he does sound like one.

And it's a very human story, sensitively told. Highly recommended. A cut above the ordinary.

And tomorrow, I'm off to Smashed, at the Underbelly (or Udderbelly - they don't seem to be able to decide) Festival. Tube stop Embankment, like yesterday. A juggling display with something to say about fascism. Must check the Tube status tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll manage!