Locke 2014

Christy Lemire, ChristyLemire.com: In Locke, we ride shotgun with Tom Hardy as he makes a fateful nighttime drive to London. He is the only person we see on screen for the entire film. There are worse ways to spend 90 minutes. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The film feels like an exercise in dramatic style, and maybe that's enough for some people. But whether it's for me or for the characters, I need an exercise to generate a little more sweat. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Writer-director Steven Knight keeps the gimmick going with new complications Locke thinks he can manage with his typical supreme competence. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Writer-director Stephen Knight gets more suspense out of the restricted nature of Locke's predicament than you would ever think possible. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Tom Hardy, the actor who plays [Locke], is by turns spellbinding, seductive, heartbreaking, explosive and flat-out thrilling. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: For the most part, it works like gangbusters. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: [Hardy's performance is] the reason you'd see Locke, and the reason you may remember it fondly, long after the ride ends. Read more

Leslie Felperin, Variety: An exceptional one-man show for Tom Hardy, this ingeniously executed study in cinematic minimalism has depth, beauty and poise. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Locke, as fascinating as it is in theory, never evolves into anything more than a glorified acting exercise. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: It sounds like a kind of show-off trick, and maybe it is. But it doesn't matter. Hardy is magnetic, using nothing but his voice and his eyes to captivate. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Hardy rises to the gimmick and grounds "Locke" with a performance as watchably charismatic as it is minimalist. You can't take your eyes off him - which is fortunate since there's no one else there. Read more

Drew Hunt, Chicago Reader: The conceit is riveting at first because Knight forgoes any backstory or exposition, though as the foreman's plight becomes clear, the tension quickly dissipates. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "Locke" is a solo act, and Tom Hardy is its superbly talented soloist. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: The crises Ivan Locke faces with a tremendous will to do the right thing strike a chord. The mistakes that have him in the driver's seat, but hardly in control, are terribly human and all too familiar. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: "Locke" is one riveting film. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: Of course, the idea of setting a film around a person trapped in a confined space (Buried) or open space ( Gravity) can seem like a gimmick. But when it's done well, as it is here, it's something else: a cinematic joyride. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: I can't think of anyone I'd rather see white-knuckled behind the wheel than Hardy, who with his bravura performance here has turned me into a true believer. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: Tom Hardy owns this taut, telling character study. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: A virtuoso narrative and technical experiment that doesn't stint on dramatic complexity or heart. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: It sounds contrived, and it is. It sounds like a bit of a stunt, and it is that too. It may even sound boring, but that it is not. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: As intriguing as Hardy is to watch, the picture can't overcome its cinematic-stunt vibe. Read more

David Thomson, The New Republic: Locke is the most unexpected, brilliant, captivating movie of the year so far. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Shot in just eight nights using a car mounted with three cameras, "Locke" is a terrific example of resourceful, inventive filmmaking. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: The movie's greatest asset by far is Hardy, whose rich, unflappable tones, even in times of high emotional pressure, bear a distinct echo of Richard Burton ... Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Yes, it sounds like a gimmick. But Tom Hardy is so compelling, multilayered and terrific in the title role, this one-man show is never dull. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Moment by moment, with a twitch, a shudder, a look, it's Mr. Hardy who movingly draws you in, turning a stranger's face into a life. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: As a visual tour-de-force, Locke is workmanlike and mechanical. As a piece of drama it amounts to watching an easy-to-read character check off the boxes on an existential to-do list. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: A man, a car, a hands-free mobile device. And it is extraordinary. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: With tremendous work by actor Tom Hardy anchoring a film that is ripe with dramatic tension, Locke is entirely absorbing despite the limitations imposed by the setting. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: One of my favorite movies of the last couple years. Great script, Tom Hardy is f*!&ing brilliant in role. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Locke is a powerhouse of claustrophobic suspense and fierce emotion, mostly because Tom Hardy, best known as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, is a blazing wonder as Locke. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Cinema is not about special effects, but about human emotion and a face in close-up. For those in doubt, "Locke" is the proof. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: Somehow, miraculously, Knight and Hardy turn that car into the only place you want to be for every one of those minutes. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Can we talk for a moment about how amazing it is that a movie like this even exists? Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: Wearing a beard and a Welsh accent that fits him as comfortably as a well-worn glove, Hardy offers a subtle yet riveting portrait in noble obstinacy. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Knight's strength is his writing, and arguably, Locke would be almost as good set on a stage with a man sitting on a chair. But then you'd miss the details of Hardy's face in a film that is all about an actor's vehicle. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: In the hands of actor Tom Hardy, the story is surprisingly engrossing and compelling, due to Hardy's great skill as an actor and Knight's finely wrought script. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Knight has enough faith in his dialogue (and in Hardy's ability to perform it) to cloister an entire feature film inside one vehicle, and it's a gamble that pays off brilliantly. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: This is a masterclass in how the most local, most hemmed-in stories can reverberate with the power of big, universal themes. Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: As you'd expect from a story that never leaves the confines of a car, Locke is intense and claustrophobic. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: A magnificent drama that resounds with powerful, universal themes. Read more

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: Luckily, Hardy is compelling enough here to drive - forgive the pun - the action. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: Although we're never taken far beyond the hero's windshield, it's still very much a movie rather than some stagebound theater piece. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Tours don't come much more forceful. Once you've taken this 90-odd-minute drive with Tom Hardy, you'll never forget his face. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: In many ways, the movie feels like the reply to a question: What would happen if we pared down moviemaking to its simplest, most elemental bones? Read more