Locke | Film review - Tom Hardy's hypnotic solo drive

You would not think a film in which a man simply drives at night from Birmingham to London could possibly be gripping, but Tom Hardy proves spellbindingly hypnotic in Locke, a decidedly unusual road movie from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

Speaking into his BMW's hands-free phone to unseen colleagues and loved ones on the eve of a major work project, Hardy's building-site manager Ivan Locke initially appears a figure of unruffled calm, his Welsh lilt deeply reassuring. Yet as his 90-minute journey unfolds in real time it slowly becomes apparent that his personal and professional lives are both unravelling.

Hardy's solo turn is a tour de force, but the voices at the other end of the line - Olivia Coleman, Ruth Wilson and Andrew Scott among them - all make vivid impressions in this compelling psychological drama.

Certificate 15. Runtime 82 mins. Director Steven Knight.

Released on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Download by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ao2r6qD22A

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.