Movies these days often span dozens of different locations and sets, with scores of extras in the background bringing the cast to thousands. But why complicate things? That's the thought process on display in Locke, a brilliant movie set entirely in one location, and with only one face on screen, now available on Amazon Prime Video.
Luckily that face is the chiselled visage of Tom Hardy, who is tasked with (and successfully pulls off) carrying the entire movie. He plays Ivan Locke, a construction worker set to overlook a huge cement pour. But his work plans are soon thrown off when out of the blue he learns that a woman he had a one-night stand with is about to give birth to his baby.
Set entirely in his car, Locke takes no fewer than 36 phone calls as he drives in almost real-time from Birmingham to London. Neglected by his father, he's determined not to have this child befall the same fate. The problem? He's got his own wife and children back home. The journey provides Locke with a chance to own up to his transgressions and sees him struggle to keep both his work and professional life in check.
With such a unique premise and little actually on screen, you need the right people supporting and luckily that's the case here. While we may never see them, there are a few big-name voices in the supporting cast, including Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson and even a young Tom Holland. Behind the camera, Stephen Knight (yes the creator of Peaky Blinders) is on hand to write and direct. The end result is a superb film from a premise that might in lesser hands have seemed a bit of a gimmick. With a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes, I'm not the only one who thinks so.
If you're after something with a similar one actor, one location setup, try the Ryan Reynolds thriller Buried which is currently streaming on ITVX in the UK, or Freevee in the US). Otherwise, the best streaming services have plenty of great movies to choose from.
