Year Released: 2014
Directed and Written by; Steven Knight
Starring: Tom Hardy
(R, 85 min.)
Genre: Drama

“When I left the site just over two hours ago, I had a job, a wife, a home.  And now I have none of those things.  I have of none of those things left.  I just have myself and the car that I’m in.”  –Ivan Locke

Only Tom Hardy could carry off “this one-man tour de force.” The whole film is him alone in his car, driving toward his destruction or deliverance – take your pick – while managing his three ring circus life on his car phone.

Infused with our current technology the film is modern, yet is also harks back to a centuries’ old structure, the epistolary novel, one told through the letters written by one or more of the characters. Ironically fitting, the first  true English novel followed this form. It was Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded, written in 1740 by Samuel Richardson.  It involved a young maid-servant who fends off the advances of her lustful employer and finally wins his love and hand in marriage.  (A plot also modernized in 1962’s romantic comedy, That Touch of Mink.)

Here, however, we have Locke, a dedicated father and husband, who has had one lapse in his 15-year marriage, this sole infidelity fueled by two bottles of wine and a very lonely woman for whom he feels pity rather than lust.

And now that mistake comes back to haunt him at the worst of all times. A child about to be born a few months premature, before he has worked up the courage to tell his wife about it, and same the evening of the biggest project of his engineering career at a concrete firm. The biggest pour in all of Europe, millions of dollars at stake, and he has decided he cannot be there.

And that concrete and Ivan Locke’s obtuse love affair with it is integral to the film. Like his name and the man himself it is hard and plain. Solid and dependable. How he tries to manage the intricacies of the pour remotely is testimony to his patience and attention to detail. He has to cajole his best worker to take on this onerous responsibility, wean him away from the hard cider he takes to muster up his courage, and deal with all the unforeseen looming catastrophes that rain down upon him like the splatter on his windshield.

Locke (to Donal, his best worker) Do it for the piece of sky we are stealing with our building. You do it for the air that will be displaced, and most of all, you do it for the f*#king concrete. Because it is as delicate as blood.

Filmed almost in real time, the hour and half running roughly corresponds in length to his drive to London, where the baby will be born. Along the way he is interrupted by phone calls with abrupt and wild changes in tone, mood, and Locke’s voice.

He has to use his “honeyed Welsh” tongue to deal with each one. Quiet reassurance and feigned enthusiasm for his sons, so excited about the football (soccer) game that night. Measured calm and honesty for the woman about to have his child. Stubborn resolve for his boss who cannot believe he is on the road instead on site. His best persuasive, dulcet tones for the city councilman who has to okay road closings. And regret and committed love for his shocked wife. This last does not go well.

Ivan Locke: It was once.

Katrina: And the difference between never and once is the whole world. The difference between never and once is the difference between good and bad.

But the best interactions are not with real phone calls, but Ivan Locke’s conversations with the now dead father he never met until he was 23. There is real venom there, and we understand Locke’s need to be someone different.

Locke: And when the baby is born, when he's seven or when she's seven, it'll say it's okay. And the name will be Locke. Oh, Locke is okay. We do okay. Because... Because I straightened the name out. The Lockes were a long line of shit, but I straightened the name out.

Finally, the filming of this “play within a car” is anything but dull or static. The traffic lights reflect on the screen in what the photographer likens to shooting a space ship. The dancing reds, greens, and whites are a kaleidoscope of or orbs menacing the screen like a small horde of UFOs. These reflections in the glass mirror Locke’s inner reflections as well.

You won’t be disappointed with this unique film from Steven Knight, the same writer who thrilled us with Eastern Promises.

See it and remember that creativity and excellence is still out there in today’s cinema.
–Kathy Borich
🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

Ivan Locke and his 2 sons are great football (read soccer for my American audience) fans and tonight is a big match. Their mother, a reluctant fan, has even caught the enthusiasm, donning the team jersey for the big night. She has also bought Locke’s favorite beer and is going to cook sausages, too.

You can almost see the boys’ popping eyes and silly grins through the phone connection. Too bad Locke has to miss it.

Even if the kiddos think sausages are the zenith of gourmet fare, you may want something more. So Different Drummer has rustled up some fancier fare from Great Britain.

You will love this Filo-Wrapped Spiced Sausage Roll Pie. Delicate pastry filled with sausage teamed up with a subtle blend of cumin, cilantro, mint, and coriander.

Enjoy or try this other sausage recipe from Different Drummer’s own Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover’s Cookbook

Bangers and Mash

Filo-Wrapped Spiced Sausage Roll Pie

Filo-Wrapped Spiced Sausage Rolle Pie.jpg

Think sausage roll, but bigger. Filo pastry is used to create a light, yet oh-so-satisfying pie that is perfect for entertaining or a comforting meal with friends.

Ingredients

· Olive oil for frying

· 1 onion, finely sliced

· 2 garlic cloves, crushed

· 1 tsp ground coriander

· 1 tsp ground cumin

· 1 tsp dried mint

· 1 pound ground sausage

· Bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

· 8 sheets filo pastry

· ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted

· Mixed salad leaves to serve

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Heat a glug of oil in a pan and fry the onion for 5-10 minutes until softening. Add the garlic, ground coriander, cumin and mint. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then put in a large mixing bowl. Cool for 5 minutes.

2. Add the ground sausage, fresh cilantro, and a generous amount of seasoning to the onion mixture. Use your hands to mix together well.

3. Put a sheet of filo on a non-stick baking tray with the long side facing you, brush all over with melted butter, then top with another sheet of filo and brush again with butter. Place another sheet of filo on top with the short edge facing you, centered but with the top half sticking out beyond the base. Repeat with another sheet sticking out in the same way from the bottom. Place  2 more sheets with the long side facing you so they stick out halfway at each end of the base (they will touch in the center). You should end up with a rough cross. As you go, brush the overlapping edges with butter. Place the sausage mix in a rough square in the center, pressing it down to about 2cm thick. Fold over the top 2 flaps of filo, brush with butter, then repeat with the 2 flaps underneath to form a neat parcel coated in butter.

4. Scrunch up the 2 final sheets of filo and arrange on top, then brush again with butter. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and crisp and the meat is cooked through. Rest for 15 minutes, then slice into 6 or 8 squares and serve with a side salad.

Delicious Magazine.co.uk