Tape (2001)

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers:

Stephen Belber (play)
Stephen Belber (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 July 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Some things can't be erased

Plot:

Three old high school friends pass the time in a Michigan motel room dissecting the painful memories of their high school years.

Plot Keywords:

Jerk | Actor | Revenge | Low Budget | Date Rape

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ethan Hawke	...	Vince
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Jon Salter
Uma Thurman	...	Amy Randall

MPAA:

Rated R for language and drug content.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Canada:14A | Netherlands:AL | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Detour Filmproduction

Trivia:

The set is not an actual motel room, as many viewers assumed, but carefully constructed (and designed by Stephen Beatrice) on a sound stage and including many remarkable details, such as the curtain being cut around the air conditioner, and stains on the wall that betray missing pictures.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Early in the movie, Vince is drinking in front of the bathroom mirror, and a camera and cameraman are reflected in the mirror.

Quotes:

Jon: Thanks, Vince.
Vince: [confused] What?
Jon: Thanks.
Vince: For what?
Jon: For all your *honesty*.

Soundtrack:

I'm Sorry

this movie left me cold

This movie comes from a seasoned director who, in the same year, nonetheless, shot another movie which i would consider the best film of 2001. This one, also shot on digital cameras takes place in a dingy hotel room and contains a cast of, count 'em, 1,2, THREE people, who are never seen outside of the context of the dingy motel room. So, don't expect for the scene to change. This film, based on a play, strives on realism, hence no orchestral score, no unnecessary settings or extra characters, just three fantastic actors dealing with issues. One (Hawke) is a volunteer firefighter/ drug dealer who likes to, ahem, get excessively high off his own supply. Another is his high school buddy,a budding young director whose film is being screen in the Lansing, Michigan Film festival, whose apparent maturity and superiority over his drug-binging pal and confidente is deceptive. The final character, who arrives 2/3 of the way through the movie is a former high school crush/ associate district attorney with significantly surrogate emotional ties to both of the men.

The riveting conversations that evolve from somewhat sneeringly nostalgic to downright inhospitable fluidly move the film more actively than any number of action-packed popcorn flicks out there. In fact, you'll have no trouble getting over the fact that you're just watching 3 people talking in a room for 2 hours (I'll admit that that was a little intimidating at first). The film successfully lures us in with that inherent voyeurism that brought those first moviegoers into the transformed vaudeville theaters. As a passive observer, we become immersed in exactly that which should be none of our business, just like Hawke's character pulls himself into a situation that is none of his business. By the end, no clear resolution is reached and as compelling and intriguing as it all was, we feel guilty for looking through the peephole.