Ivan Locke is driving from Birmingham to London which is how long it takes the character to arrive at his final destination. This is another risk as the audience is left looking at Hardy and the highway for that amount of time. There are no changes in scenery to distract us. There is only the story and the acting.
Yet in spite of this, the audience is never bored. We learn many things about Locke during this long drive. He is trying to handle three major moments in his life with nothing but his car, bluetooth and road for support. The reason for his drive: Bethan (voiced by Olivia Colman). Bethan is a woman he had a one-night stand with and now is about to give birth to his child.
He not only has to balance Bethan's anxieties about giving birth, but his wife who he tells over the phone about the affair and upcoming birth, the pouring of concrete he was supposed to be supervising early the next day and a cold. It is a lot for a man to handle over nothing but his bluetooth.
Ivan is the only person we see. We get to know the other characters through the phone conversations. Locke has two sons with his wife Katrina (Ruth Wilson). His wife is obviously upset over the news of his affair. Locke talks to both of his sons at one point or another and the only clue they get about their parents' troubles are when they realize their mother is in the bathroom crying. Bethan is nervous about giving birth as she is delivering early and later in life. Donal (Andrew Scott) is Locke's construction aide and now has the responsibility of the pour hanging over his shoulders. Locke loses a lot in these eighty minutes. He loses his job and possibly his marriage.
Locke shows only Hardy mainly with medium shots. Occasionally we see the bluetooth in his car when he has incoming calls and the other items strewn in the front seat of his car. Otherwise, it's nothing but Hardy from beginning to end. When he is not on the phone, we learn bits about his past. Specifically his father who becomes an invisible character in the story whenever Locke directs monologues at him.
Ivan is a good man who made bad decisions. In fifteen years of marriage, Bethan is the only woman he has cheated on his wife with. He loves his sons and is trying to give them the love and attention he never received. It is for this reason as well that he resolves to be a father to Bethan's child. He feels nothing towards the woman, but he refuses to let the child grow up fatherless.
He is also an excellent builder. One of the best and if he has a flaw it is this: sometimes his job comes before his family. Still, he tries to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences.
Hardy is a fantastic actor and this film is ultimate proof. He delivers a subtle performance. No matter which of the characters he talks to, he manages to keep calm and is able to soothe and reason with most of them. The exception is his wife, but that's understandable as she has just found out her husband cheated on her and that has resulted in a child. The most heartbreaking phone call comes at the end as he speaks to his son Eddie (Tom Holland).
Tom Hardy has no other actors to react to. He has to rely on the voices on the phone and this is one of the reasons this film is worth watching.
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