Steven Knight’s “Locke” (2013) is a one-character film about a man in crisis. On paper, it is quite uneventful. After all, it’s simply about a man driving from point A to point B while talking on his phone with a bunch of people. All we see is him inside his car. Yet, Steven Knight’s script offers an uncommon depth to his character through these conversations, providing plenty of psychoanalytical subtext to understand the root of his behavior. At its core, the film is about a man trying not to repeat the mistakes his estranged father made, only to dig himself into the same hole.
Still, the film isn’t the least bit interested in offering a moralistic conclusion or a conventional happy ending. Instead, it leaves us on an ambiguous note when the protagonist finds himself running out of options to salvage the mess he has made. His life reaches a point where there’s no turning back. What will Ivan do in the end? Let’s discuss.
Spoilers Ahead
Locke (2013) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Written and directed by Steven Knight, “Locke” is a psychological drama that stars Tom Hardy as Ivan Locke, a married man whose life begins to crumble as he drives away to right a wrong.
What happens in Tom Hardy’s Locke?
The film introduces Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) as an everyday man, leaving his job to get home. However, it starts to unravel as soon as he gets into his car. He calls Bethan (Olivia Colman) to assure her he will reach the hospital as she goes into labor. It seems like he is going to meet his partner to help with the pregnancy, but that’s far from the case. He has a wife, Katrina (Ruth Wilson), whom he tries to get in touch with. His sons, Eddie and Sean, hope he returns home soon to watch a football match together. As it happens, he tries to contact Gareth (Ben Daniels), his superior, to speak about something urgent.
Ivan receives a call from Donal (Andrew Scott), panicking about his sudden leave from the job. Soon, the pieces start falling into place. We realize that Ivan is a construction foreman who has bailed on his job to be with a woman he impregnated during a work tour. The thing is, it’s not just another day when someone else can take care of his duties. He is expected to be in Birmingham to oversee a concrete pour, considered to be the biggest in European history. Donal, the trainee, is not qualified to handle it all on his own. Still, at the last minute, Ivan heads to be next to Bethan, who is all alone at the hospital.
The reason? Ivan is trying to be better than his father, who abandoned him at a young age. He doesn’t want Bethan’s newborn to feel what he did. He thinks he can do everything right by reaching a common ground with all the parties involved. However, that hardly works in his favor as he drops a bombshell on this chaotic night.
How does Ivan try to salvage the situation?
Ivan doesn’t tell Katrina about Bethan until the fateful night. He somehow believes that he can work things out with his wife while also pleasing Bethan. So, he tries to soften the blow of his bombshell by painting Bethan as an older, unattractive woman whom he got intimate with only because he felt pity for her. He repeats that he has never cheated on Katrina in their 15 years of marriage, except once. Katrina finds it all hard to believe, considering Ivan’s otherwise spotless image. Similarly, Gareth and Donal can’t wrap their heads around how someone as reliable as Ivan can bail on them at a critical moment.
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Based on what they say, Ivan seems like a morally upright figure who can do no wrong. His behavior during the ride goes along with this notion. Throughout these conversations, he is strangely calm and collected, even as he sees his life gradually crumbling into pieces. He doesn’t raise his voice or get aggressive except for a moment or two. Instead, he takes out his anger at his absent father, imagining him sitting in the backseat. He blames Locke Sr. for his own failures as a father. So, while presenting himself as a well-composed person, he has an angsty inner life that hasn’t healed from his past traumas. Despite everything, he is determined to prove he is better than his father.
That’s why Ivan aims to act responsibly, even if he is not physically present at home or work. One thing becomes clear: Ivan is solution-oriented and resourceful. It allows him to help Donal, be it emotionally or technically. That’s how Ivan comforts Bethan, making her realize an unavoidable part of her labor. He also tries this approach with Katrina, thinking he can find an amicable way to mend their relationship. Unfortunately, the damage is beyond repair.
Locke (2013) Movie Ending Explained:
Can Ivan salvage the mess he made of his life?
Toward the end of “Locke,” we see Ivan losing his job at the construction site. He still ensures that no stones are left unturned for the sake of Donal and his reputation. Still, one thing goes wrong after another, leading the big concrete pour event to become a potentially colossal failure. By abandoning his work, Ivan also puts Gareth’s job at risk. Around this time, Katrina tells Ivan never to return home. However, Eddie and Sean have no idea of any of it. They still think their dad will be back home. Eddie also records the football match so they can watch it all together as if it’s live, to get past the fact that he missed it. All Ivan can do is weep in silence.
In the film’s final moments, Ivan receives a call from Bethan. He stops the car to hear their newborn crying, and keeps driving further. That’s where the film leaves us. The ending invites interpretation of his potential fate. Ivan loses his home and his job. After this night, Katrina may never forgive him, but he might be able to have some sort of relationship with his sons. Gareth may never rehire him or Donal trust him. The only person who still hopes to see him is Bethan. So, at least to prove that he is better than his father, Ivan may never abandon his children.
Aside from the specifics of his potential future, the film wants us to look at the man behind the mask. Having been abandoned as a child, Ivan didn’t want to be anything like his father. So, he started his life as a clean slate, carving his own identity. He seemingly made it all work until he gave in to his urges, which brought him closer to the flaws of his father. So, after losing the life he meticulously crafted for himself, he will have to start afresh, once again, as a clean slate.
Locke (2013) Movie Themes Analyzed:
Fatherhood, Loneliness, and Responsibility
“Locke” is inherently about fatherhood as it follows a man struggling to grow past his fraught father-son relationship. It leads him to craft a life devoid of his father’s influence. While doing so, he suppresses his unresolved trauma by devoting his life to work, lying to himself that he has gotten everything figured out. It distances him from his family, likely hinted at through a part of his conversation with Katrina, who mentions how he has always loved his work more than his family. I might be taking her words too literally, but in this case, the shoe fits. His work also represents his life philosophy to find a logical solution to every concern with a carefully calibrated construction.
Unfortunately, it leaves him feeling incredibly lonely, unable to share what he truly feels since he bottles up his emotions, seemingly hiding them from himself. That is likely why he gets intimate with Bethan. He sees a part of himself in her. Even his description of her sounds like his mental state. That night, he drives there, not just to prove he is nothing like his father, but also to be there for someone as lonely and emotionally fragile as him. He continues to honor a code he has stood by of being a responsible figure. Maybe that’s why he tells Katrina the truth that night, hoping his moral code will help him sail the ship.
