Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea

That is the sum of writer/director Steven Knight's movie: a man, a car, a hands-free mobile device. And it is extraordinary.

Washington Post by Ann Hornaday

Locke is so distilled, such a pure example of cinematic storytelling, that it almost feels abstract.

Chicago Sun-Times by Richard Roeper

In writer-director Steven Knight’s mesmerizing jewel of film titled Locke, Tom Hardy is so brilliant we readily watch him drive a car and talk on the hands-free phone for virtually the entirety of the film — and it’s one of the more effortlessly intense and fascinating performances I’ve seen any actor give in recent memory.

TheWrap by Alonso Duralde

Hardy might be past needing a star-making performance, but this is the kind of work that raises him to highest echelon of actors working in film today. He and Knight remind us that artists can astonish with the simplest of methods.

Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern

Tom Hardy, the actor who plays him, is by turns spellbinding, seductive, heartbreaking, explosive and flat-out thrilling. At a time when the studios are spending vast sums of money on a bigger-is-better aesthetic, here's a chamber piece with the impact of high drama.

Entertainment Weekly by Chris Nashawaty

Yes, Locke is a bit of a storytelling stunt: For the entirety of the movie, Ivan is the only character on screen. But even with nothing to cut away to and no flashbacks to offer context, the film manages to stay as tight as a vise.

Portland Oregonian by Marc Mohan

It's a fascinating instance of a filmmaker working with self-imposed rules, but never forgetting that those restrictions are only worthwhile to the extent that they serve character and story. It's a ride well worth taking.

Charlotte Observer by Lawrence Toppman

Nobody fires a shot. Nobody topples a kingdom. But as Ivan Locke’s life unravels behind the wheel of his car, which he drives almost from the first frame to the last, we can’t look away.

The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney

No less impressive than the narrative mastery here, however, is the technical execution of this bold minimalist experiment.

The Playlist by Oliver Lyttelton

A very impressive film, one that can only increase the esteem in which both Knight and Hardy are held.

CineVue by Daniel Green

Locke never shies away from from thrusting 21st concepts of masculinity into the full glare of the high beams, exposing its morally complex protagonist at his most vulnerable before triumphantly rebuilding him from the foundations upwards. Don't miss it.

Empire by Olly Richards

There are films to see on huge screens, but this is one that almost cries out for a small cinema, surrounded by total blackness. It’s a daring experiment brilliantly executed, with Tom Hardy giving one of the performances of his career.

Variety by Leslie Felperin

This ingeniously executed study in cinematic minimalism has depth, beauty and poise.

Time Out London by Dave Calhoun

A masterclass in how the most local, most hemmed-in stories can reverberate with the power of big, universal themes.

The Telegraph by Robbie Collin

If you are asking an audience to listen to one man talking for an hour and a half, you had better make sure he is worth listening to, and minute-by-minute, Hardy has you spellbound.

Slant Magazine by Ed Gonzalez

The literalizing of Ivan Locke's hidden self and his inability to master it ultimately exposes the film as the squarest kind of theater: drama therapy.

Village Voice by Alan Scherstuhl

What director Knight excels at is continually inventive framing and composition, at suggesting, through layers of window and reflected traffic, the mental state of Locke, the hero.

The Guardian by Xan Brooks

Full credit to Hardy and Knight for making a film such as Locke. Low-budget film-makers could learn a lot from their method. And yet – having stripped away all but the bare necessities, having reduced the components to a car and a man – they make a classic error of overcompensation.