Locke

I read a hilarious review of Locke just after I had seen it in which the person was complaining that 50% of the film is taken up with discussions about concrete. Frankly, they're not too far wrong. To explain further, the film follows construction manager Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) as he attempts to supervise a large concrete pour planned for the next day. Now, when I say follows, this is the crux of the matter, as Steven Knight's film takes place entirely inside Locke's car. It's hardly a revelatory approach and there's that famous film quote (well the quote that isn't the one about the gun and the girl) which says that all you need to produce a film is a camera, a light and an actor. Knight is most well known for being the co-creator of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, though he has also written many a screenplay as well as having one previous film (the little seen Hummingbird) as director under his belt. Knight's script (plus Hardy's solid performance - not sure about the Welsh accent mind) just about keeps this on the right side of entertaining, with Locke taking numerous phone calls as both his personal and professional lives unravel. On that note, Knight gives even screen time to each of Locke's problems, but his domestic issues hardly set the film alight (not helped by them all being Locke's own fault). More fun is had with his manic attempts to organise the concrete pour, especially his comic conversations with colleague Donal (Andrew Scott). On that note you can have fun trying to decipher the actors voices popping up on the hands free as the film progresses (Scott sounded so much like Chris O'Dowd I had to do a double take when the end credits came up). Apart from that there isn't much else here to hold the attention and even with a short running time this feels like it's outstaying its welcome well before the end. However, if you fancy seeing something different then give this a chance - Blockbuster fans need not apply. Rating: 6/10.