Tape (2001)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I'm a Linklater fan. Waking Life is among my top five favorite movies. The Before Trilogy awakened me to the true power of dialogue in film. This Linklater film, however, was way more frustrating than satisfying to watch, and the dialogue was, far too often, a mind-gamey labyrinth of petty sarcasm, passive-aggressive antagonizing, manipulation, and verbal circumnavigation. There were so few moments of clarity, if any, which to the writer's benefit, may have been the point. The prospect of this being the intention, for me, was the only redeeming factor of this movie.Ten years out from high school, old but distant friends Vince (Hawke) and Johnny (Leonard) reunite in a hotel room in Lansing, MI for the debut of Johnny's first independent film at a nearby film festival. Vince is a somewhat volatile and immature Oakland drug-dealer who recently broke it off with his girlfriend of 3 years; his character is the defensive screw-up whose misery loves company. John is his foil, apparently more stable, idealistic, but whose sense of self isn't very concrete but can still come off inflated, especially when in the same room with Vince. Amy (Thurman) is an old fling for both male characters, but in a way that, whenever brought up, inspires ancient unresolved tensions centered on a nebulous incident in high school, the exploration of which drives the majority of the movie. I think the dialogue was smart from the standpoint of it demonstrating the emotional and manipulative power that words can wield and the haziness of recollection, but in the broader scope of the movie, over time even the characters themselves got lost in what they were talking about! This is when even an iota of clarity could have saved the movie for me. But for me it never came, which felt unjustified because these are supposed to be ADULTS talking, and none of them can seem to muster a straightforward statement. Hence, this film left me resentfully asking the same question plaguing the characters to the end, "What are we even talking about?"

A small, much more contemporary piece compared to his highly cerebral and evocative Waking Life from the same year, Richard Linklater's film adaptation of the Stephen Belber play is rather convincing and foreboding in its portrayal of three friends from high school who reunite ten years later and learn how little each of them has been able to shake their respective pasts.Ethan Hawke truly stands out here as a bonafide actor; completely confident and convincing in his role as a drug dealer/firefighter who initially seems like a typical, stoned-out druggie yet turns out to be far more observant and conniving. Robert Sean Leonard is also strong who likewise turns a few corners over the course of a night of talking frankly with people from his past. Overall, this is a fairly minor work from one of America's most important directors, but it shows his capabilities to stretch beyond his comfort zone and mix it up within a rather unpopular but still important subgenre of drama. Shot on digital video for a more authentic and gritty feel, this is a gripping story that at its best shows pitiful characters at their most vulnerable points.

Richard Linklater is a very talented director and a very important figure of independent cinema.Tape is another great movie directed by him.First of all,a movie which only has three actors and is developed in one room and results to be fun and great,is something really unexpected.The plot is perfect and I wasn't bored watching this.The performances are excellent but Ethan Hawke steals the show.Tape is a great and fun movie,very well written and very well acted.So I recommend this film because it's really fascinating.Thank you,Mr.Linklater for giving us this great film.Rating:9

Okay, so, admittedly, I am a huge Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke fan. But, I think this film is just more proof that they are artists worthy of keeping your eye on. This film makes use of the same enthusiastic writing technique that makes Linklater's works Before Sunrise and Before Sunset also my favorites. This time, instead of two characters, there are three. But, that's all you get for the entire film. Three people in one room. Two guys who knew each other in high school and have stayed in touch off and on meet up in a motel room when on of them is in town. As they play catch up, you find out their versions of past events vary. To clear things up, enter their former classmate, played by Uma Thurman. The dynamic between these three is phemonenal. This movie is a must see.