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Locke

8/5/2015

64 Comments

 

B
2.93

  • It's very well-written, such that I understand motivations and reactions and who these people are, from corporate middle-man to idolizing son - Jon
  • As soon as I saw Locke and his rotating [GPS] map, I knew I wouldn't like him - Bryan
  • Thanks, Locke, for putting me in touch with my dark side - Lane

Original Review by Phil

When I first heard about “Locke,” I thought it was a novel concept that drew me in more out of curiosity than anything else.  Tom Hardy, in a car, on the phone, for 84 minutes.  That’s it.  It’s a strange concept, but somehow, it works wonderfully.  Locke could have very easily been nothing more than a gimmick.  It wound up being a fascinating character study for modern times.

I think this movie really spoke to me because every conversation happens via phone.  As technology advances, we are forced to have more of our meaningful interactions through the use of technology.  This really struck me as I thought back on how many of my major interactions in the past and still today do not take place face-to-face.

The company I work for is very big into “agile” workforces.  As a result, my manager is in Houston, and the three people who report to me are located in Green Bay, Tallahassee, and Mumbai.  Needless to say, you have to be a little adaptive with how you work in a situation like that.  I’ve had a couple projects where I’ve had to be very organized in order to talk someone on the other end through it.  Unlike Ivan Locke, I’m not nearly as organized or detail oriented.  If you know the Myers-Brigg personality scale, then you were probably able to peg Ivan as an ISTJ.  In comparison, I am an ENTP.  Pretty much as far away as you can get.  I got a kick out of the conversations with Donal as it reminded me of having to do something similar with an intern, and I was pretty scattered to say the least.  Thanks to that stupid “Perceptor” portion, I pretty much loathe organization and planning, opting for adaptability when things change.  Ivan had his plan and his backup plan.  He had the entire concrete pour down to a science (thanks “Sensor”), while I was much more likely to forget a step.  As a manager, I couldn’t help but respect Ivan.

I don’t have the same envy of Ivan in his personal life, as parts of it also hit a little close to home.  For the first two years of my relationship with my wife, we had a long distance relationship.  Long distance relationships suck.  Several conversations that should have been in person could not be b/c it just isn’t feasible to drive four hours roundtrip because someone had a bad day or was really questioning major decisions in their life up to that point.  It’s a feeling of powerlessness.  This was only exacerbated by me, b/c I consider myself a fixer.  Ivan is the same way.  Leaving things in a bad place isn’t in either of our DNA.  With the concrete pour, he had his plan, and he knew a capable person could execute.  He doesn’t have a backup plan here, as Bethan went into labor early.  It was amazing to see how a man could be so prepared and in control of one aspect of his life was so much the opposite in the other.  Ivan’s plan for his personal life was terrible, and all suffered as a result.  I thought these scenes were some of the best acting of the movie.  Hardy is great here, understanding the hopelessness of the situation yet still soldiering on, hoping to get another chance when he already knows that isn’t going to happen.  I couldn’t help but feel awful for everyone involved here.  Kristina had done everything to make sure Ivan was going to have a relaxing, happy night with his family – she got his favorite beer and she was wearing whatever stupid shirt Ivan liked.  However, I may have felt worse for his son, especially when he pleads with Ivan to come home and they’ll just rewatch the game like it’s live, essentially pretending this whole ordeal never happened.

Our last important relationship is that with Bethan, Ivan’s one-night stand and now baby mama.  Here, we see the “Thinker” portion of Ivan’s personality in full force, and again, his interactions with Bethan felt relatable in a very bad way to me.  Ivan has a problem with being brutally honest.  It’s what got him in this situation to begin with.  I appreciated and understood his entire interaction with Bethan.  He refused to lie to allow her to feel a little bit better, essentially admitting he felt nothing for her.  This is a very “Thinker” trait I know all too well.  Ivan is brutally honest to a fault, refusing the let Bethan believe that she is anything more than a fling.  The same happens with anyone he talks to about her.  It’s commendable and cringeworthy.  I think this also works itself into the “fixer” aspect that I felt like Ivan had.  Thinkers have a difficult time grasping that time will heal all wounds.  Instead, there must be definable actions that lead to the positive outcome.  We don’t understand things getting better by doing nothing.  This is what I would expect to happen with Kristina, eventually being willing to forgive Ivan once the emotion of the situation has gone down. It could take a while, years even, for that emotion to subside.  In general, thinkers struggle with emotion.  We tend to come off as callous, not willing to fake an emotional reaction that doesn’t exist.  It’s easy to think of Ivan as a jerk in his reactions with Bethan, but that wasn’t how I interpreted it at all.  He was just honest, helping her understand the reality of the situation.  He wanted to help, he wanted to see his infant son rose well, but wasn’t going to marry Bethan or anything like that.  Ivan understands how things will play out based on his actions – it’s why he wasn’t at all shocked with how everything played in his personal and professional life on that car ride.

So, ultimately, how do we all feel about Ivan’s decision to go see Bethan on that night?  It’s easy to see it as selfless as noble, but I found it to be an extremely selfish decision.  In the first shot, when Ivan is deciding to turn left or right, he’s playing the scenarios out in his head.  He knows what will happen if he goes to Bethan.  He’s played the entire movie out in his head, yet he still does it.  Is anyone better off by his actions?  Ultimately, yes, one person is better off – Ivan himself.  We see it in the final shot, the look of satisfaction that he knows he made the “right” decision.  He has no problem jeopardizing a concrete pour costing millions of dollars or wrecking his own family in order to relieve himself of the guilt of not being there for the birth of his bastard.  He could have come later, as his feelings for Bethan are made perfectly clear and it never seemed to me like he was doing it for her.  Once we have the reveal that Ivan grew up without a father, everything fell into place.  This was a make-up call for his upbringing.  Ivan reflecting alone on his own father is the one part of the movie that felt clunky and out of place.  Hardy yelling at a ghost in the backseat just felt really goofy and dumb.

 “Locke” is a movie that works for me because of how relatable Ivan was to me.  I can understand a person really hating this movie, but I think that depends on who you are as a person.  Ivan was a very relatable character to me, as we share several character flaws.  I don’t agree with his decision to go to Bethan, nor do I find it noble, but I do understand it.  He made one bad decision, and he gave up everything to pay for that decision.  He did it willingly though, which is what makes him such an interesting character.  I’d like to think he gets back to a sense of normalcy someday, when time has healed all these wounds.  However, I know Ivan – I don’t expect him to sit idly by and wait for that.

+ Fascinating character study

+ Well acted

+ Proves to be more than a gimmick

- Dad ghost stuff was silly

Grade: A

64 Comments
Admin
8/3/2015 03:34:38 am

Spot saved for direct replies to Phil.

Reply
Bryan
8/3/2015 03:49:13 am

"It’s a feeling of powerlessness. This was only exacerbated by me, b/c I consider myself a fixer" I think this is true of every male. And every male with a successful marriage learns to tone this down.

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Sean
8/3/2015 05:28:44 am

You know that scene in Major League when the manager pisses on Dorn's contract stipulating that he doesn't have to do calisthenics he doesn't see fit? That's what I feel about Meyers Briggs and Strenghts Finder and similar tests.

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Phil
8/3/2015 06:33:03 am

I think they're at least interesting. Watching Locke I couldn't help thinking about his personality type.

Strengths Finder feels a little more silly to me of the two. That said, my mom swears by one part of it - she is always weary of anyone who is Significance in their top 5... they are generally a huge pain in the ass to manage.

Bobby
8/3/2015 05:30:48 pm

I never did a Strength Finder, so I found one really quick:

1.Student
2.Flexibility
3.Information Excavator
4.Thinker
5.Analyst

Bobby
8/3/2015 05:33:49 pm

Oh, those are talents, Strengths with them..

1 - Learn
2 - Adapt
3 - Information Input
4 - Intellect
5 - Self-Confident

Recognition/Significant was 25th!

Bryan
8/4/2015 02:23:48 am

Bobby, a link if you please.

Bobby
8/4/2015 06:28:25 am

I just used the first one i saw:
http://freestrengthstest.workuno.com/free-strengths-test.html

You have to register, but that's what throw away emails are for, right?

Bryan
8/3/2015 07:05:27 am

I got ENTJ from this site: http://www.humanmetrics.com/hr/jtypesresult.aspx all listed as slight.

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Sean
8/3/2015 07:12:08 am

ESTJ moderate slight slight marginal

Phil
8/3/2015 07:26:27 am

ENTP slight slight strong moderate

Bobby
8/3/2015 04:08:15 pm

I've taken a few of these tests before.. I'm always INTP, go me.

Drew
8/3/2015 04:27:13 pm

ENFP

Bobby
8/3/2015 04:47:39 pm

We should have made a game of Phil guessing all of our personality types

Lane
8/4/2015 08:23:47 am

INFJ

Bryan
8/3/2015 03:45:45 am

My first thought is how do you like your GPS orientation? I'm map-north kind of guy, if my car is going west. That little arrow should be pointing left.

As soon as I saw Locke and his rotating map I knew I wouldn't like him. Then director Steven Knight decided it would be good to change the camera ever 5 seconds, screw with the focus, and slightly shake the camera. Congratulations Mr. Knight, you've successfully made me car sick in my own home, well done.

The premise of this movie was intriguing, but the follow through was too cute. For the first half of movie every phone call arrived with perfect timing. It took 40 minutes or so for the first call waiting to happen. In this storm he was going through, I find this highly unlikely.

The only phone call worth listening to was with his foreman as the guy is getting more and more drunk as time passes. I couldn't find any attachment to his other phone call recipients - boss, wife, son, mistress, ghost-dad, or councilman.

Yelling at his ghost-dad was weird, but maybe Locke is just a talk to yourself person. At some point near the end as the pressure is mounting he drops a "Fuck Chicago" line. I chuckled at its awkwardness.

The movie made me nauseous and wasn't terribly realistic then Locke receives a phone call from his mistress moments after birth and she sounds like nothing every happened - yeah right!

+It was short
+Interesting idea
-Nauseating
-Uneventful
-Not Funny awkward

D+/C-. I couldn't recommend this to anyone nor would I consider watching it again.

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Sean
8/3/2015 03:57:50 am

The happy mistress call at the end was believable to me. She's drunk off pain meds and relieved that her baby is here. Add in her own delusions of love with Ivan she believes the baby will bring them together and is denying in the moment the reality that he has already laid out for her.

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Bryan
8/3/2015 04:30:46 am

I would have expected more slurred words or giggling for your theory to be believable.

Phil
8/3/2015 04:20:33 am

Your GPS orientation makes you a monster. Rotating map all the way.

Agreed with Riley on the happy mistress. Drugs man.

The camerawork didn't bother me at all. It may have been overdone for sure, but I didn't notice anything major. I also am not susceptible to car sickness, so maybe that's part of it.

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Phil
8/3/2015 04:32:01 am

Also, how can you describe this as "uneventful?" A man has his personal and professional life crumble right before our eyes. How is that as "uneventful?"

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Bryan
8/3/2015 04:33:37 am

Either mistype or poor word choice. How about unengaging?

Phil
8/3/2015 07:09:13 am

Unengaging is fair. Like I said in my review, I was expecting some people to hate it. I think it's a movie that requires a lot of focus early on to get the most out of it.

Sean
8/3/2015 09:42:36 am

To cosign on the early focus part, I was bothered that a guy so organized and who had everything so laid out would have the file folder in his car with him until Phil mentioned above that he had changed from left turn to right turn to start the movie.

Phil
8/3/2015 07:59:49 am

I know this is considered gauche by MMC standards, but this has been driving me crazy forever and I need an answer from Bryan on it.

Bryan, I've seen you knock several movies because minor details are not "believable." I wish I would have brought this up in that review, but Riley mentioned Major League, so I have to ask.. How is that movie an A+ when everything involving Willie Mays Hays is completely and utterly ludicrous?

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Bryan
8/3/2015 08:40:54 am

What about Willie Mays Hays is ludicrous? Along the same lines, comedies often don't need to rank very high on the believability factor. The action in big action can be unbelievable. However, a drama attempting to tell a believable story can't stray from believability. It becomes too distracting.

Phil
8/3/2015 08:52:18 am

What about Willie Mays Hays isn't ridiculous? A 100 steal guy who just shows up to a spring training tryout and isn't thrown out immediately? How did they know he wasn't an insane serial killer?

Also, you're now suggesting different genres dictate different grading standards. That's fine and I agree, but this brings me back to the rewatchability. Comedies need to be rewatchable; dramas do not necessarily.

I think I would have had a bigger issue with this movie had the call waiting thing been happening from the start. Non-stop chaos like that coupled with Ivan driving in silence for minutes at a time would have been more distracting if you ask me. I think the flow of the calls was a story-telling device to show Ivan quickly juggling between these competing stories. If that breaks reality for you, fine - we're at an impasse with this then.

Bryan
8/3/2015 08:59:40 am

1. Gauche is a new word for me. Thanks.
2. How do we know you're not a serial killer? Or cereal killer?
3a. He isn't thrown out because he's fast. /baseballjoke
3b. He isn't thrown out because it's a comedy of guys who never should make the team in the first place.
4. I partially agree that dramas don't have to be as rewatchable. But some of the best dramas are the best to rewatch. Ones which don't rely on story line big reveals. I could watch The Godfather many times. Everyone else here could watch Pulp Fiction many times. Both dramas. Every time you watch something new and worthwhile is thought of or noticed. These subtleties make for great movies.
5. You're probably right about immediate call waiting, but the series of hang-up receive a calls in perfect timing isn't believable. It may create better flow, but believability was sacrificed. For you and many others I'm sure it's a worthwhile trade-off. For me it was too cute.

Phil
8/3/2015 09:08:39 am

1. You're welcome
2. You don't. Then again, you had more than zero minutes of interaction with me when I moved into your room in the Fiji House.
3a. That actually made me laugh.
3b. Agreed but Mays Hays is an exception. He is clearly skilled and we have to believe he just fell through the cracks? Everyone else had a fatal flaw, but Mays Hays was a legitimately good player and he wasn't even in the minors. Where the hell did he come from?!?!
4. Those are both A+ movies. Pretty much the only dramas I'll rewatch are A+ movies (been thinking about buying Pan's Labyrinth on blu ray for that reason). So if rewatchability has a mythical ceiling for someone, say a B, then you essentially have dramas that go from A+ to B and nothing in between. In order for this to not break my brain, I need someone to give me a rewatchable drama that is an A-/B+.

Bryan
8/3/2015 09:21:43 am

3b. Mexican League, Caribbean League, Korea, Japan, Cuba, Netherlands?
4. Here's a list of MMC dramas rated between 3.67 and 3.33
Amadeus
Fight Club
Zero Dark Thirty
A History of Violence
The Graduate
Short Term 12
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Gone Girl
Boogie Nights
The Social Network
Election
American Psycho
A Hijacking
Boyz N the Hood
Little Miss Sunshine
Taxi Driver
Second Hand Lions
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Finding Neverland
Hoosiers
The Wrestler
Big Fish
Being John Malkovich
Almost Famous
Edward Scissorhands
Good Will Hunting
The Breakfast Club
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Lars and the Real Girl
50/50
Contagion
Fruitvale Station
Once
Field of Dreams
Witness
Breaking Away
Rocky
Up in the Air
Mud
Finding Forrester
Hard Eight
Hustle and Flow
Munich
Raging Bull
Traffic
Captain Phillips
The Master
Big
Memento

Bryan
8/3/2015 09:24:57 am

Of those here are ones I've seen. An "x" for the ones I'd watch again.

Fight Club (I've seen this 3 times, never a huge fan)
Short Term 12
Y Tu Mama Tambien
xThe Social Network
xElection
American Psycho (maybe)
xA Hijacking
xBoyz N the Hood
xLittle Miss Sunshine
xTaxi Driver
xSecond Hand Lions
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
xFinding Neverland
xHoosiers
xThe Wrestler
xBig Fish
xBeing John Malkovich
Almost Famous
xEdward Scissorhands
xGood Will Hunting
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
50/50
xContagion
Fruitvale Station
xOnce
xField of Dreams
xWitness
xBreaking Away
Rocky
Up in the Air
Mud
xFinding Forrester
xHard Eight
xMunich
xTraffic
Captain Phillips
The Master
xBig
xMemento

A significant number of those are actually in my personal top 50, how fun.

Phil
8/5/2015 01:26:29 am

OK, there are plenty of movies on that list that fit the criterion for sure. I'm not going to look at the spreadsheet and just trust that all of those were in the A-/B+ range for you. The Social Network and Good Will Hunting are excellent examples of the rewatchable drama with just a couple small deficiencies. A handful of these movies aren't dramas though.

Bryan
8/5/2015 03:08:23 am

Blame Jon.

Cooker
8/3/2015 04:08:16 am

I watched this a couple of months ago when someone nominated it, but it was eventually vetoed. Thinking it was officially selected, and ready to receive a new Netflix disc, I went ahead and got it.

I had to look up on the master list what I had given it and it was a B-
I liked the overall approach to this film. Sure, not much happened and you’re watching a guy talk on a phone in his car for the whole movie, but at the same time, this could’ve been a typical drama where he’s physically interacting with all the other characters, we have more build-up to the scenarios, etc., etc. Only hearing the other end of the conversations made things more interesting. You had to visualize what everyone looked like, who they were, what they were doing while they talked, etc. The business calls were the most interesting in my opinion. I also felt for Locke with his personal life dilemma between his wife and mistress. Caring about characters is something that a lot of movies I’ve seen recently have lacked.

I agree with the whole Bill Cosby thing. That’s in regard to the “Ghost Dad” comments that everyone has been bringing up. Weird and distracting. I had no idea what was going on the first time it happened.

To sum it up, a C+/B- is typically my grade for “I liked it, it wasn’t great, I at least cared about what was going on, but I’ll more than likely never watch it again.” The different approach made it stand out from other similarly-rated movies, pushing it to the B-

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Phil
8/3/2015 04:22:32 am

I really need someone to explain to me the whole "rewatchable" thing when there are thousands of movies made every year. Some of my favorite movies I've only seen once and once was enough.

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Bryan
8/3/2015 04:32:36 am

Some movies are worth rewatching because the scenes/characters are engaging, the quotes/jokes need to be reheard, or the dialogue needs more analysis.

Cooker
8/3/2015 06:02:30 am

I have my "go-to" movies if I want to feel a certain way. It mainly has to do with dealing with depression for me.

Phil
8/3/2015 06:16:06 am

Cooker, I buy that response. Movies can either make you think or let you escape. However, I don't think both can be judged using the same rubrik. There are plenty of movies that I recognize as great, but there's no chance I'll ever watch them again b/c the subject is just so heavy. The now-classic example of this would be Schindler's List.

Cooker
8/3/2015 08:47:04 am

I agree with some movies being difficult to watch again based on content, regardless of how great they are. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one like that for me. Incredible movie that I've only seen once. When using the think/escape reasoning, I will honestly say that it's probably 80/20 that I watch movies to escape.

Phil
8/3/2015 08:57:13 am

I think it's closer to 95/5 for me. "Escape fodder" tends to be Futurama, Archer, or South Park episodes. At this point, nearly every movie I want to rewatch is something I saw when I was too young and need to watch it with a more developed brain.

Lane
8/3/2015 04:37:35 am

I bought a new car back in January. There are two things I really like about it: 1.) it gets good gas mileage and 2.) the bluetooth phone. It’s fantastic! So convenient! If ever I was having a life crisis in which I was taking a personal day during a major millions of dollars project I had been leading for months in order to go see a child I fathered out of wedlock with a woman I don’t plan on being with, I will be really glad I forked over the bucks for that upgrade!

I’m not sure what I wanted out of this movie. It was a minimalist gimmick movie that toyed around with some of the big ideas of life. Was it too gimmicky? Thankfully, no, but that’s probably due to the fact that it only lasted about the same amount of time my own commute in Atlanta used to take. If it had been any longer, I think I would have been hoping for him to get in some kind of crash. Or at least get pulled over.

Was it too minimalist? I would lean towards a “yes” here. About 45 minutes in I got the feeling I was watching an extended car commercial. Hardy’s acting is good, yes, and maybe his performance is even more impressive with how little he had to work with. The soundtrack was forgettable and the cinematography got boring quick. Here’s a shot of a car driving down the road. Here’s another shot of a car driving down the road. Here’s Tom Hardy. Here’s the car driving down the road again fading through…oooo ahhh…soft focus tail lights. Anytime I judge some aspect of a movie and think, “I could have done that,” it’s going to detract from my score.

Did it succeed in the “big idea” category? Yes and no. I think I wanted it to be smarter than it was. Because I majored in philosophy (which is the reason that I, unlike Ivan Locke, will never drive a BMW) I tried to reach back into that seventeenth century philosophy file cabinet drawer in my mind and find a connection. Social contract theory? Tabula rasa? Maybe, but you’d have to write a pretty long grad school paper to make those connections. Ultimately the big ideas came down to commitment, morality, and loss, things that we all think about sometimes. And here, it succeeded. I found myself swinging back and forth between identifying with Locke and his honesty, while also thinking up ways in my own mind that I would have probably lied and concealed everything if that was me. So, thanks “Locke” for putting me in touch with my dark side.

But I’m not sure the movie did much for connecting the head with the heart. By the end of the movie, my main thought was…”Well, baby’s fine. He should’ve gone home and watched the game.” While I’m glad I watched this film, I think I’ll still pick Mad Max as a better “Tom Hardy Driving a Car” movie.

Liked:
the acting

Disliked:
the camera work

Ambivalent about:
the concept

Grade: B-

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Sean
8/3/2015 05:27:06 am

Now I want the philosophy vs BMW comment

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Phil
8/3/2015 05:56:17 am

Philosophy majors make no money, therefore they will never drive a BMW.

Sean
8/3/2015 06:04:22 am

sick burn Phil, I was expecting a philosophical reason not a practical one

Phil
8/3/2015 07:15:43 am

There is definitely a philisophy debate to be found here. Ivan Locke sharing a last name with John Locke was not a coincidence.

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Sean
8/3/2015 05:23:43 am

I like going to live theatre, I almost never do but when I get the chance I always come away with enjoyment.

I say that because I would be fascinated to see Locke as a 1 act 1 man show on the stage. Hardy does mostly a great job throughout but we're seeing several takes. Watching this live single take straight through would be great to see an actor take on.

Specifically to the film now. Conceptually very cool movie even if it makes you think of McConaghy's Lincoln commercials a little. I love dialogue heavy movies and this is forced to be all dialogue by its concept. I knew going in that Mindy would get frustrated by it so the first half was watched on the laptop with headphones. Once Mindy needed the laptop I switched to the TV. 2 things of note, Mindy quickly decided the movie was dumb because it's just a guy in his car talking on the phone. And the change in venue actually harmed the movie a little bit, this is one that was helped by the intimacy of the headphones and the immersion of a laptop screen 18 inches away from my face. Moving to the big screen allowed for cell phone glances. Locke's conversations showed off Hardy's skills as he was mostly fantastic, my one complaint was his ranting at his ghost of a father, I get it the story wanted to include back story as to why it was so important to him to be there for the birth but it felt out of place for his calm character to have that under the surface bit unhinged. They could've omitted the absent father stuff and just implied that he was trying to do the honorable thing and while it was not honorable to cheat on his wife he will not make 1 mistake 2 by not being there for his bastard child. Speaking of bastards, what GoT bastard name could we give this kid. I was thinking Lion or Windsor, gaining name from either the lion on the UK crest or the current royal family being House Windsor, neither seem quite right as both have prestigious association for bastards. Someone think of something better.

I was totally not mad at Ivan for not humoring Bethan with the I love you's. I loved the line he had about I don't love you and I don't hate you I don't even know you. Maybe it's cold and maybe in her state she needed some coddling but if he intends to return to his world his relationship with this woman must only be baby mama, he will provide for and be as present in his childs life as possible but Bethan is and will always be nothing. I'm on board with that approach. What I was not on board with was the line to his wife, "move to a practical next step" Locke has avoided this conversation for 7-8 months (premie) so during this time of avoidance each time he almost confesses he goes through the internal emotion so its as if he expects his wife to have gone some of this emotion too. It's callous and illogical and the way he handles it exacerbates the problem.

Best 2 phone calls were the two most emotional. The one when his wife calls him out for calling the son and asking for a phone number basically giving him the ultimatum, I understand your need to be present for your bastard, please understand what you are putting me through and be a real human being and fuck your damn building, now would you still like that #, click.
2nd best when Locke finally breaks down talking with his son who has finally pieced together what has happened and is trying to hit the reset button. This aint Nintendo little fella. Side note- I always hated people who did that shit.

Final aside- I spent the whole movie trying to figure out at least what team he and his kids were supporting. Locke is Welsh so your options would be Wales National team, or if you're thinking the BPL Swansea or Cardiff. The main clue we get is Caldwell the donkey. The most prominent Cardwells of soccer in the area are Gary and Steven but they are Scottish, no Welshman named Cardwell have seemed to appear for Wales recently. They also never played for Cardiff or Swansea. Further research led me to Ciaran Caldwell but he seems to play in Northern Ireland so it's a safe bet that if they do follow a lower level team it wouldn't be in Northern Ireland. I'm left to decide they went fake names and unnamed team to avoid an Ed OBannon lawsuit. But I'm betting on Swansea being their team anyway.

Back to the movie. The ending left me wanting more I don't like it when things end leaving the viewer to fill in with their imagination, they might as well could've faded to black. I want to know what happens, does his wife and kids take him back slowly, did Donal fuck up the pour, etc.

Between the out of place daddy issues and the ending I'm knocking Locke down to a B+

This review took 2 hours to write between all of my phone calls I've taken today and the footy research.

Reply
Bryan
8/3/2015 05:33:48 am

Locke 2, Donal pours concrete for 10 hours.

I think I'd like that show much more.

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Phil
8/3/2015 06:12:51 am

"What I was not on board with was the line to his wife, "move to a practical next step" Locke has avoided this conversation for 7-8 months (premie) so during this time of avoidance each time he almost confesses he goes through the internal emotion so its as if he expects his wife to have gone some of this emotion too. It's callous and illogical and the way he handles it exacerbates the problem."

This was my point about Thinkers. Thinkers on the extreme end of that spectrum just do not understand emotions on that level. There is a reaction and then a shift into "how do we handle this" mode. Ivan and Kristina are working from completely different modes here.

Also, consider how meticulously Ivan has planned the concrete pour. My assumption is he has been working on a similar plan for Kristina ever sense the transgression. I don't think he's had as long as you think to figure this out. My guess is if Bethan doesn't get pregnant, he never confesses - again, logical man thinking, that was a one-time thing and it's never going to happen again anyway. The Bethan pregnancy was likely only known to him for less time, so we can assume he just didn't have his plan formulated. Or he was waiting until after the pour.

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Sean
8/3/2015 06:42:02 am

Thinker or not he's been married 15 years he knows what her type is too and the Thinker in him would know the most appropriate course of action to minimize damage and that wasn't it.

Phil
8/3/2015 07:06:19 am

He didn't have a plan, he panicked, so he defaulted to base reactions. I don't think anyone has a great gameplan in that situation anyway.

Bryan
8/3/2015 07:30:33 am

In terms of saving his marriage, he had the worst plan.

Bobby
8/3/2015 05:04:22 pm

Before watching Locke, I didn't look up anything about it. The only info I had is when Phil mentioned something about one event changing everything in somebody's life. As I started watching, I quickly realized that this entire movie was going to take place in the car... it made me think of Speed, and while I knew they were nothing similar.

For some reason, I have get irrationally annoyed when a movie takes place (nearly) entirely in one place/setting... and it's all due to my dislike for Speed. But, it hardly holds true... movies like Saw and Snowpiercer were great movies for me. Ivan Locke was interesting enough that any negativity from Speed was quickly abandoned.

First off, Tom Hardy was great. Of course, he had to be or this movie never would have done anything and we likely wouldn't have had it picked. Still.. he made the character and his drive realistic and interesting and his performance makes the movie worth watching.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Locke, was engaging in his conversations and decisions as he did. Thinking about what I was say to each person if I was in this situation and how I would react to what they say or the issues that arise made the film much more interesting. It's nice when a movie can make you examine yourself a bit but in an interactive way, and not just with some wrapped up moral of the story that's meant to cause deep reflection.

Now, one of the things I disliked the most was his absent father in the back seat. I get it, his entire motivation for this road trip was so he didn't do what his father did and leave his child abandoned and forever resentful. This, however, was made clear enough when he explained it to his wife. I have no issue with him talking to himself (or to his father in a sense), but they choice to show us the rear view of the empty back seat felt unnecessary and distracting... Perhaps they felt it was the only way to clearly portray who his monologues were really aimed at, but I didn't like it.

I also tilted my head in uncertainty as each call came in at the perfect time.. one after another, but when the call waiting finally kicked it, I quickly forgot about it and all fell back into place.

There's more to talk about, but the conversations have already kicked off quick on this one, so I'll bring this to and end and try to jump into some of the discussions as they keep going. Overall, I was happy to tag along for the ride with Locke. It was an interesting, and risky I think, concept that worked out well due to the great performance. I'm somewhere between a B and B+, but I'm feeling positive about it at the moment, so we'll go with the latter.

B+

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Phil
8/5/2015 01:18:52 am

I went with A for my grade b/c while the ghost-dad stuff was silly, I didn't have a better alternative to how to do that. The stuff with the wife is a good point. I also read in further research that Knight was trying to draw a straight line from Hamlet to Locke - both feature ghosts, both feature sacrifice of all in the name of some sort of noble vengeance if you will. Once reading that, I decided to not knock it as badly as I felt I should have.

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Jon
8/3/2015 07:10:32 pm

I very much like Locke, but post-vacation illness and lethargy is going to keep me from writing the longer review I would usually write. I'm surprised at how apathetic I am towards talking about this movie, which is knocking my grade down from the previous A- and making me reorder a couple of my Letterboxd lists, so I'm going to paste a link to my original review, and add a few more thoughts.

To quote Al Swearengen, "Announcing your plans is a good way to hear God laugh." Obviously, that's a saying that predates Deadwood, but it's a good chance that David Milch arranged the general sentiment in the most pleasing way possible. For all of Ivan Locke's planning at work and at home, things like the internal environment of Bethan's womb are far outside of his control, and because of a few bacterial cells finding a home in her nethers, or some other potential cause, she goes into premature labor and his whole life is upended. Movies this compartmentalized run into an early logic problem i.e. why does it have to take place in the one environment? I think Locke sets up a believable and urgent motivation for its protagonist and therefore quashes that question of realism, frustrating GPS annoyances notwithstanding.

That motivation, to be at the hospital when his child is born, is strange and a little silly, but as long as I believe Locke buys it, it's not necessary for me to. This trip is a mostly symbolic act, as the baby isn't going to have a memory of its birth, and it's probably going to be in the hospital for some time, seeing as it's premature. Locke probably could've put off the trip for a few days to complete his pressing business, and broke the news to his wife in a less cruel way. Those talks to himself in the rear-view mirror are key to the film, as they illustrate how blinkered Locke is by his hatred for his father and his resolve to not repeat any of his mistakes. I like the idea of people going into the birth of a child with the hope that maybe, they can get it right this time. Maybe this child will be able to break old cycles and avoid old pitfalls. Probably not, but maybe. Locke is so close to doing that, but the one moment of weakness has changed the lives of his family for the worse. Maybe with this new kid, though, everything will be perfect. It works for me, and I love that the movie ends with the kid being born.

That said, I have a hard time sticking with the A- I originally gave it. It's very well-written, such that I understand motivations and reactions and who these people are, from corporate middle-man to idolizing son. I like all the performers and love Hardy, but the setting just isn't visually interesting and it didn't hold my interest very much on the second viewing. That's a built-in choice the director made, and I'm knocking the movie down because of it, but only to a B+. I just can't say I loved the movie, and I must stick to this arbitrary grading system I've established for myself. I've made the decision and there's nothing to be done.

http://letterboxd.com/jon_kissel/film/locke/

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Bryan
8/4/2015 02:22:25 am

Letterboxd, shmetterboxd.

Such an uplifting description of conception, lol.

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Phil
8/5/2015 01:20:53 am

"Those talks to himself in the rear-view mirror are key to the film, as they illustrate how blinkered Locke is by his hatred for his father and his resolve to not repeat any of his mistakes."

Agreed, and this is why I thought his decision was so selfish to begin with. He could have done this in a more "tactful" way, but he was doing this for himself and no one else.

Reply
Drew
8/4/2015 03:27:20 pm

Locke was an interesting approach to a film where only one screen actor was necessary. It is fairly difficult to think of another film that pulled it off as well as Steven Knight.

Its concept was gripping because Locke was hellbent to do something his father did not. Was Locke's father present when he was born? It is uncertain but viewers know Locke does not like the man. His insistence to be what his father was not served as Locke's motivation.

The father - son relationship is difficult and there is no other film that exemplified it better than Field of Dreams. Knight allowed that to be the main perspective of the film but viewers are truly unaware of it until the movie's end.

Everything else was secondary and tertiary. Locke's plan was to see his baby born while leaving everything else planned in great detail for his team to accomplish. But his drive to be what his father was not left one small detail out of place, and that was the binder. His forgetfulness put him in a bind - to his credit, he devised a contingency plan that appeared to work.

All in all, this is a good film. The ghost riding was bothersome as was Locke's open ability to trust but the one screen actor in one prop was cool.

Grade: B+

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Phil
8/5/2015 01:22:39 am

Drew, can you explain Locke's "open ability to trust?" You mention it as a weakness of the character but provided no examples (unless I'm missing something).

Reply
Drew
8/5/2015 02:24:49 am

Locke's "open ability to trust" was obvious so I was unaware it needed explanation. At any rate, he heavily counted on Donal to do the various required things. He trusted his wife would allow him to, at least, return home so they could discuss the problem. Finally, he trusted the Polish team to dig the hole.

What is ironic is how he let down everyone but now he is dependent upon the very people who he failed. Interesting.

Reply
Phil
8/5/2015 05:09:14 am

Ok, that's what I figured you meant but I wanted it confirmed. Now that you've clarified, it still doesn't sound like a weakness. How is this "bothersome" and a weakness of the movie?

Drew
8/5/2015 02:47:36 pm

It bothered me that he bailed on everyone but then relied on those people to make up for his mistake. It was the sophomoric, total dick move.

Also, you do not need to be sneaky, you jerk! You just could have asked me instead of circling around it. :P

Bobby
8/6/2015 04:56:48 am

I'm not even sure he trusted these people... but with what he was doing (which he 100% considered to be the right thing to do), he didn't have much choice. He still loved his wife, and saw what he did as a one time mistake that (in his mind) his wife should forgive and move on from. Donal was the person there for the pour, so he was the only one Locke could direct and guide to make it work. And the Polish team was a his last hope (one he worked with before, and apparently loved him) to fix last minute issue.

None of those things really tell me he was too open to trust, but what he was doing gave him little to no other choices in the matter.

Phil
8/6/2015 08:45:46 am

I tend to agree with Bobby here, especially concerning the pour. To bring back in my story with the intern, I gave that intern a couple things that I didn't have time to do and I figured would not end well, but you still have to instill that confidence in the person, otherwise it will definitely not end well.

Drew
8/8/2015 06:04:19 am

He had to trust them, which is why he was open to it. If I was any of his colleagues, I would have told him to kick rocks. That would have forced him to return to his job and complete it. Everyone else fell to his persuasion. It was, as if, his colleagues were naive and dumb, which was a constant complaint of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. They were not as bad as FBDO but the naivete was clear. Throughout the film, I kept thinking "why not just tell him and Locke would have to return?" That was his open ability to trust that bothered me.

Shane
8/10/2015 04:36:02 am

Hardy gives viewer;
A commanding performance;
But are we there yet?

An 80 minute movie shouldn't feel so long.

C+

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