The story of the film is very simple. Construction worker Ivan Locke faces the most important moment of his working life, but the woman he once had a one-night stand with is about to give birth to his child, so he resolutely decides to go, which triggers a series of envoys. its near-collapse event. At first glance at the synopsis, you may think that this film is an ethical film with strong dramatic conflict, but the director took a different approach and made this film into a one-man show. From beginning to end, you can only see Tom Hardy driving a car on the phone. Such a design undoubtedly requires the actors to have good acting skills, and Tom Hardy, the absolute protagonist of the film, has done a good job of his task, and he plays Locke, a man who has a story and is on the verge of losing control, very well.
There are many models of one-man shows in Hollywood, such as "Buried Alive", "The Moon", "The Rest of the Desert Island", "Everything Is Lost", etc., but they all have something in common, either the plot design is layered with conspiracy, or the pattern is large and the actors can perform The scope is wide, but the film lacks all of those things, which makes it a little different in a one-man show. Indeed, this film has been compressed by the director to the extent that it can no longer be compressed in terms of plot, space and time. Relying only on the dialogue to advance and pave the way, the protagonist Locke's work, family and life are vividly displayed, but it must not be. Needless to say, this kind of treatment does not appear dull, but makes the film have a unique charm.
However, it is also in the plot that the film slowly shows that it has always been on the verge of getting out of control. Locke's story limits the film's unspeakable secrets in less than ten minutes at the beginning. After all, the fact that a woman who has had a one-night stand is about to give birth to his child can't be used as a big conspiracy to the end. The reversal came, so the audience knew from the beginning what was going on. The result of this is that the director needs to prop up the whole movie by designing a series of chain reactions that happened after Locke was found out by his family, boss, and friends, so there was a big project where Locke was fired and worried about the next day. And managed to resolve, conflicts with his wife's mistress, and even Locke's past and his hatred of his father. This series of plot designs did show all kinds of Locke's life in a very short period of time, and with Tom Hardy's wonderful performance, the film was able to capture the audience, but it was this series of treatments that made this film The film is on the verge of getting out of control. First of all, there is a flaw in the plot. It only takes Locke to go to London for an hour and a half, and he has enough time to come back. The decision to give up everything seems a bit far-fetched. Then, Locke's hatred of his father seems to be the origin of it all, but Locke suddenly yells at the back seat for no reason, without a bit of foreshadowing making it all a little bit straightforward on a metaphorical level, and a little abrupt . In addition, in terms of the ending and the handling of some details, the director seems to have a lot to say, but I don’t know if it is too obscure or what, it always gives people a feeling that the director wants to express. So the whole thing feels like it's on the verge of getting out of control, as if the film is just a little more mediocre in an instant.
Compared with the contrast between the pros and cons of the plot, the most outstanding part of this film is probably the performance, not only the wonderful performance of Tom Hardy, but also the characters appearing in the phone call of the protagonist Locke, who can make the characters stand out only through their voices. up. They are either hysterical, or capricious, or weak, or tender, all of which are well-acted just by sound. Among them, Locke's two sons and his subordinate Donal are the most outstanding, and the last phone call between Locke and his son is the most exciting and moving place in the whole film. Locke seems to be heading towards destruction and at the same time, it seems that he is heading towards hope. Such a metaphor can make the audience more contemplative because of the performance of the actors.
Overall, although this experimental film is on the verge of getting out of control, it has many advantages. It uses the least amount of materials to maximize its effectiveness. The actors perform wonderfully. The overall feeling is that you have watched the visual effects blockbuster for a long time and suddenly watch it. The TV movie felt pretty good. In any case, the director has a lot of ideas, and the whole film can be considered attractive. Although there are still many shortcomings in many aspects, it is worthy of recognition.
Even if there is one more problem, it will really get out of control...
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