Tom Hardy is the compelling focus of the intense, experimental Locke

Making the right decision is easy; all you need to do is the right thing. Figuring that out, though, that’s the tricky part. You can decide based on reason, instinct, emotion, or chance, but nothing is the perfect solution. When moral questions arise and the situation becomes complex, it’s even harder to determine the “right” way to go. People like to pretend we’re rational beings, but that often fights against our instincts and history. Of course, philosophers have debated for millennia on morality and rationality, so it’s not like there’s a simple solution. But things get even trickier when you have to balance your responsibilities against the consequences of your mistakes.

Locke is an interesting, experimental movie from writer-director Steven Knight, taking place almost entirely inside a car, and we only ever see one character. This character is Ivan Locke, played by Tom Hardy, who is driving from Birmingham to London for reasons that are slowly revealed through a series of phone conversations. As the movie progresses, we experience the night of a man in difficult circumstances. Locke is a hardworking and capable worker and family man who gets into his car at the start of the movie and stays there until the credits roll.

Locke proceeds to have a series of conversations with his wife, whom he has just told a terrible secret to, an admission of a past mistake and why he’s driving from Birmingham to London. To explain all the specifics would be to ruin much of the quality and point of the movie, which is itself an explicit journey of the arc of a character trying to do the right thing. His situation is hardly bizarre or unusual, but it is intensely personal and terrible for all involved. By the time the night is through, Locke may have lost everything trying to make up for his past mistakes. We watch as Locke tries to keep it together despite dealing with his wife and coworkers. After all, he still needs to finish the job, despite everything.

Although it may seem like it wouldn’t work to have a movie like this, where you see just one actor visually in one location, the movie is an engrossing, tense affair. As Locke sends and receives calls, the sound of the ringer becomes a strident, harsh tone that is the harbinger of yet another problem Locke must try to get past. But some problems aren’t possible to overcome, and Locke becomes frustrated at himself, comparing himself against his deceased and deadbeat father, often talking to him as though the man was there in the car. This too could be done poorly or seem silly, but we do not wonder about Locke’s sanity or purpose. Although we can disagree with his decisions and lament his mistakes, we can’t help but root for this man.

It must be said that in a movie with one actor ever seen, there is a very high difficulty for any actor to pull off. But dang, if Tom Hardy doesn’t manage. This is a performance filled with nuance and subtlety, never seeming false or out of character, somehow seeming real and honest while full of conflict. Without a performance of this magnitude, the movie would certainly have failed or just seemed “quirky.” Instead, it seems real and powerful. The various phone performances work well, with various people acting emotionally, drunk, or confused, but it all really works well together. By the time we get to the end of the movie, there’s a sense of “wow, they really pulled it off.” It’s impressive to see; the movie was filmed on actual roadways using a car on the back of a flatbed, so all of the sights and traffic are real.

In the end, Locke fights to keep it together despite everything falling part, all due to his own mistakes. It’s a hard thing to try, but it’s a lesson I think can be respected by anyone. For me, this is one of the best movies of the year.