Locke - B-

Rated R, 84 minutes

Hardy is superb as "Locke" in tense, one-man ride

The low-budget, independent film "Locke" is a tense, well-acted thriller directed by Steven Knight, the screenwriter from "Eastern Promises" and "Dirty Pretty Things." It's also a one man show, starring "The Dark Rises" Tom Hardy (he was bad guy Bane in that film), and he holds your interest well. Construction foreman Ivan Locke (Hardy) leaves an important job in Birmingham and drives down to London. Along the way, he tries to settle stressful personal and professional problems on his mobile phone while having imaginary conversations with his long deceased father. For a one-person film that spends its entire 84 minutes inside a car, "Locke" is intense, taut and keeps you engaged much more than you might think as Locke has a serious of mostly unfortunate phone conversations on his hands free device. Films with a limited cast sometimes work well other times they don't (the recent Redford flick "All is Lost" is one of the better ones of late), but it's held together by the masterful performance of Hardy and Knight's sturdy direction. The film veers off time to time and meanders somewhat midfilm under a load of different conversations, but it's a tense, watchable ride, even if you really wouldn't want to be in the car with him during these conversations. "Locke" may be a little too tricky and talky from some and admittedly it's not perfect, but it's worth a look from a tour-de-force performance from Hardy.

Wes's Grade: B-