I wouldn't go quite so far as the call "Locke" a riveting film, but it is very interesting, and I was never bored watching it--a significant accomplishment given the limits the film places on itself.
The film, with a short 85 minute runtime, is not quite set in real time, but its pretty close. It takes place as the lead character, Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) drives from Birmingham to London. On the way, he has several conversations on the phone as both the reasons for his trip to London and the mere act of making the journey cause his personal and professional lives to implode. Hardy is the only actor to speak on camera; the other characters appear by voiceover only.
The fun of the film is watching an actor keep the story moving forward with no one to rely on but himself. Without a great central performance, I'd have checked out of the film in the first ten minutes. Hardy delivers a strong portrayal that allows him to show tremendous range. His character is put through the emotional ringer during the course of his drive and the increasing tension shows in his performance. Not just in the expected, predictable ways, either (his temper getting shorter, for example). As his situation becomes more stressful, he also reacts more strongly to the small victories he wins. These moments of stronger emotion, both positive and negative, are even more special because he is generally very restrained, even trying to be the voice of calm when those he is speaking to get worked up.
I almost feel I do this film a disservice in my opening by saying that it is not quite "riveting". By some standards it may be, but I tend to have a very high bar a film must reach before I'll use that word to describe it (I doubt more than five films in the average year would qualify, and that's being generous). There are certainly moments in the film that were riveting--moments that I was thinking "Dude! Answer the phone!" as I wondered what the caller had to say this time. Riveting or not, it is certainly a film well worth seeing. It manages to make the intricate details of cement pouring actually sound interesting, and off the top of my head, that is something no other film has ever accomplished.
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