Locke: parents' guide
Best for ages 15 and up. Rated R for language throughout.
A tense, one-man drama for older teens and adults: Tom Hardy plays a construction manager who spends a night drive to London on the phone, confessing a one-night stand to his wife and supporting the woman about to give birth to his child. There's no violence or sex on screen, and it is almost entirely one man talking in a car, but the language is relentless, with dozens of f-words and two c-words. The emotional fallout, including his sons' confusion, is intense. The swearing is the main reason for 15 and up.
What's in it
Violence
NoneNo violence. Ivan shouts during calls and pounds the steering wheel in frustration, and that's the extent of it.
Language
StrongVery strong language throughout: more than 70 f-words by one count and about 90 by another, two uses of the c-word, plus s-words, 'bastard' and British slang.
Sex and nudity
MildNo sex or nudity. The story centers on a one-night stand that happened months earlier, which Ivan discusses in painful phone calls with his wife.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateA colleague is drunk during his phone calls after a few beers, and there's a passing reference to 'dope.' No one is seen drinking or using drugs.
Scary or intense scenes
MildNo scary scenes, but steady emotional tension: an unborn baby in distress, a woman who may need an emergency C-section, and a marriage falling apart over the phone.
Worth talking about
Ivan insists on doing the right thing even though it may cost him his job and his family. Was he right, and what does taking responsibility really look like?
On our lists
Similar picks around 15+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, movieguide.org, bbfc.co.uk, the MPA, Wikipedia. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.