Tape (2001)

Three old high school friends meet in a Michigan motel room to dissect painful memories from their past.

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers:

Stephen Belber (screenplay), Stephen Belber (play)

Stars:

Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, Uma Thurman

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ethan Hawke	...	Vin
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Jon
Uma Thurman	...	Amy

Storyline

Twenty-eight year olds Jon and Vince, friends from high school, meet in Vince's seedy motel room in Lansing, Michigan. Jon had invited Vince to town from his current residence of Oakland to help celebrate the fact of his latest movie, independently shot, having a screening at the local film festival the following day, the first public screening of one of his movies. While Jon seems to have grown up in having this career path and a nice room in an upscale hotel provided by the festival, Vince, who, in preparing for the evening has already had a few beer by the time Jon arrives, hasn't, he who deals drugs for a living with no change on the horizon, and his girlfriend, who was supposed to accompany him to Lansing, having broken up with him, indirectly because of his immaturity. This divergence quickly becomes an issue of contention between the two. But as Vince's behavior is seemingly more and more substance affected, he having broken out the weed and coke, his intention with Jon may be ...

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Plot Keywords:

single set production | single location | high school | motel | filmmaker | 

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Taglines:

Some things can't be erased

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and drug content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vince is never seen leaving or entering the motel room.

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Goofs

Vince changes positions in bed during the "why are you lecturing me" dialogue.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

The end credits move across the screen in the motions of tape inside a playing cassette.

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Married Couples Who Starred in Movies Together (2018)

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Soundtracks

I'm Sorry
Performed by Brenda Lee
Written by Ronnie Self and Dub Allbritten
Published by Universal Champion Music
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
[Played during end credits]

User Reviews

Simple and Powerful

"Tape" is not the best film of the year (in fact, it's not even director Richard Linklater's best film of the year), but it's a strong and intriguing movie experience all the same. Just three characters, one hotel room and a whole boiling pot of backstory. One could almost imagine Linklater, Hawke, Leonard (hey, isn't that Ethan Hawke's roommate 10 years ago in Dead Poet's Society?), and Thurman hanging out with a cool stage play and a DV camera and shooting the whole thing in one night. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing discardable or amateur about this film. But watch how the play, a simple story of old friends confronting old wounds, is transformed by the camera. The story is told in real time in a cramped room, but Linklater's over-cutting almost seems to extend time and space, creating a fully-realized world outside the hotel room walls without ever taking the camera outside. The performances are dead-on and suspense builds right under your nose. Rich and engaging.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 2002 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Tape

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$28,424, 4 November 2001

Gross USA:

$490,475

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$515,900

Company Credits

Production Co:

Detour Filmproduction, IFC Productions, InDigEnt (Independent Digital Entertainment)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1