Classic British/American films: Locke – Tom Hardy stars as a man in crisis in gripping, experimental one-man show

In this regular feature series on some of the most talked-about films, we examine the legacy of classics, re-evaluate modern blockbusters, and revisit some of the most memorable lines in film. We continue this week with Locke , the 2013 film by Steven Knight.

The showrunner of TV’s Peaky Blinders and the scriptwriter of David Cronenberg’s 2007 gangster film Eastern Promises, Steven Knight is best known for his fascination with violent clans. But for this 2013 drama, his second film as writer-director, he goes in the opposite direction. Over 85 tense, moving minutes, Locke focuses on just one man, Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy), alone in his car, driving away from his life during a long, dark night of the soul.

We begin in the sci-fi strangeness of a Birmingham building site, as Locke, the site foreman, takes off his boots, gets into his BMW, then sets off. It’s the eve of the biggest concrete pour in European history, but our dedicated hero is abandoning his post – and his family – to be with a woman (national treasure Olivia Colman) he had a one-night stand with as she gives birth.

Throughout the drive, Locke fields calls from his kids (future Spider-Man star Tom Holland, and Bill Milner), who are waiting to watch a football match with him; his boss (Ben Daniels) and second-in-command (the fantastic Andrew Scott), who are furious/terrified of tackling the pour without him; and his wife (Ruth Wilson), who is heartbroken he has been keeping secrets from her.

As an experienced screenwriter, Knight knows that action is character. So to watch this strong, steady, almost boring man risk it all for the sake of doing the right thing, tells us everything we need to know about him.

Hardy is, as usual, fantastic, speaking in a pedantic Welsh accent that fits Locke like a glove. “I have made my decision,” is his constant refrain. “I don’t have a choice.”