In the narrow space of the driver's cab where no action can be performed, he only relied on subtle changes in his eyes, expressions and tone adjustments to show ample emotions. This reminds people of the famous "This Man Comes From Earth", which also relies on only one scene and a man's narration to complete the whole story. But after all, there are still many people supporting the latter, and this "Locke" is all on its own.
Of course, it's not just actors. Such a film clearly demonstrates the ambition of director and screenwriter Steven Knight. He has created a series of high-reputation works such as "The Beautiful Bad Things" and "The Promise of the East". But "Locke" may be the most difficult. It relies solely on lines to pin the discerning audience, and if it loses control a little bit, it will collapse in an instant. In this age where movies are only for sensory enjoyment, how many people are willing to listen to a middle-aged man sitting in a car nagging about his family affairs and mental confusion?
There are only three things in Locke's dilemma: family, lover, and work. But this basically covers all the problems that a middle-aged man can encounter. He dialed the phone and told his son that he couldn't go home to watch the game with them. Then, he handed over work to his company. The employee who had never made a mistake told his boss that he could not go to the site the next day to keep an eye on the construction site, even if he knew that it was the company's largest business. Finally, he connected his lover's phone and told her that he was on his way to the hospital. His lover is expecting childbirth with their son.
Calls are dialed in and out alternately between these three. His wife decided to divorce him, and his son seemed at a loss; his lover kept asking him whether he loved him or not, but in fact, they all admitted that it was the only time they had sex after drinking, and they didn't even understand each other; He was fired, but he insisted on using the telephone to remotely control his subordinates to make arrangements for the next day's affairs.
The phone is messy, but Locke has been working hard to sort out. All the flavours of life are leaked out in this confusion. "Rock" is a story in a confined space. Although it is not as extreme as the famous "Buried Alive", driving alone on the highway has a more lonely symbolic meaning.
Controlling this action seems to have the initiative, but in fact, this movie is cleverly using this original initiative to convey the feeling of "manipulated". On this highway, the man has been driving towards the unknown. He is trying to maintain everything in a state of regulation, but the real initiative is destiny, he is at a loss and can only be forced to accept it.
In addition to being passive, there is also alienation. This is another theme of Locke. He was originally a person embedded in work, family, and emotions, which seemed extremely important and suitable, but in fact, Locke has been in a state of alienation for these three, and he has long been tired of it. Director Steven Knight asked this man to talk to himself with resentment in addition to making calls, to make people realize that his childhood was crippled and that he had a father who was never present. This led to the third theme-absence. This is another profound dimension. He not only completed his account of the formation of his character, but also cleverly responded to Locke's current position. For family, work and lover, he is absent. What is more fatalistic is that his lover let him hear his son's cry in the last call. While cursing his father's absence, he also became an absent father.
From the beginning of the movie, the director has been using the siren and horn on the highway, as well as the emotions of the male protagonist who is on the verge of breaking out and breaking down, to describe the atmosphere of an impending accident. The audience has determined that this car will eventually crash on the highway. But the director chose a much more advanced approach. He heard his son's cry, calmed his mind, and finally decided to continue driving down the road. He seems to be facing a new life, but in fact he has to fall into the same absurd and repetitive days.
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