I love watching bad horror movies and action, but sometimes I need to watch something calming with little going on. In comes "Locke", a 2013-14 A24 film that promised to only be a guy in a car taking calls. No masked killers, no guns, no explosions. It was exactly what I wanted when I asked ChatGPT for a recommendation.If you're interested in this movie because it sounds like a wonderful ASMR experience, I recommend it wholeheartedly. Tom Hardy takes a long night drive surrounded by many other vehicles, and it is beautiful. The lights on the dark backdrop, Locke's warm profile, his rambling — it's all great if you're fine with more than whispering. As much as I was frustrated by the actual plot of the movie, I would watch it all over again solely for the way that it was filmed.
As for the plot, I do not recommend this movie to tender-hearted folks who cannot bear the slight drama. This movie is not marked as a horror, but it may play the same as The House That Jack Built for people who are soft empaths. You'll likely find yourself hurting for Ivan's wife, and maybe even him to a degree.
If I could change anything about this movie, it would be the reason that Locke is stuck driving so far to begin with.
According to the man himself, he spent a drunken night with a lonely woman named Bethan, something that he appears to regret but cannot change. I would give my left walnut to make a version of this movie where the main issue was something else, but alas, I am also unable to change the events of the movie.
That being said, a part of me is impressed with how Ivan addressed certain parts of his predicament.
He may have been clumsy, but his attempt to take complete ownership of his faults instead of offloading them to someone else was commendable. Others may see this as being the bare minimum, which it is - especially in his positon, but I can still appreciate it.
Could he have done things better? Definitely. Should he be allowed to drink with other people around? No. Never.