The B Team

LOCKE (B) - If you're going to make a film exclusively about a man driving for 70 minutes while talking on his car phone, there had better be a decent payoff in the end. The ending of "Locke" can be considered understated and bittersweet. Most viewers, I suspect, will feel cheated.

Writer/director Steven Knight presents Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy, "The Dark Knight Rises") a key figure at an international construction company who is expected to oversee a big concrete pour for a major high rise. But on the eve of that assignment, he gets news from a woman he impregnated during a one-night stand that she is going into labor early, so he gets in his car and heads off toward London. During the drive he must assure his baby-mama that he's on his way, break the news to his family, and coach his replacement at work through the preparation for the next day's big pour.

It's to Hardy's credit that he can command the screen for so long and make this artificial writing/acting exercise meaningful. He maintains a calm Vincent Price patter as Locke juggles his personal and professional challenges.

All but the opening shots are filmed in the confines of Locke's car. Knight and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos avoid claustrophobia and play with focus and the color palette of an urban highway at night. The visual conceit loses its snap by the end.

It's hard to ignore the artificiality to the production. Locke's back story is made literal through his rants into his rearview mirror, directed at the person who hurt him most. What's it all building to? Eh, not much. 

JEALOUSY (B-minus) - We give the father-son team of Philippe and Louis Garrel another chance after "A Burning Hot Summer."

Here, young Garrel  plays Louis, a 30-year-old actor who has walked out on his girlfriend, Clothilde (Rebecca Convenant), and their adorable daughter, Charlotte (Olga Milshtein). He lives in a ramshackle apartment with actress Claudia (Anna Mouglalis), who toys a bit with his emotions and wants nothing more than to get out of that dump.

Claudia finds that opportunity through a man of means who is willing to fund a higher standard of living. Clothilde is still reeling from the breakup, reminded of it in some way by little Charlotte, a smart, inquisitive kid. Louis, as Garrel tends to do in these roles, mopes around a lot. He kisses another troupe member. Claudia makes out with a guy she meets in a bar.

The adults are not particularly compelling. What makes this worth watching is Charlotte, the being who connects the main players. Milshtein is quite a talent, and she makes Charlotte playful but perceptive. The outing in which her dad introduces her to Claudia is a small thrill. Rather than portraying the girl as a pawn of the adults or an emotionally scarred child to be pitied, the elder Garel positions Charlotte as a serious character in her own right. That move adds depth to the story and highlights the insecurities and immaturity of the adults around her.