TAPE
Released: November 2, 2001
Richard Linklater is one of my favorite directors. "Slacker", "Dazed And Confused" and "Before Sunrise" are his first three classics that I love. Now, with his "Sunrise" star Ethan Hawke, he brings us the low budget "Tape", which takes place entirely in a cheap motel room in Lansing, Michigan. The only other cast members are Robert Sean Leonard and Uma Thurman. Based on a three-character, one-act play, "Tape" is about Vince (Hawke), a ill-tempered, outgoing party animal/drug dealer who's visited by his old high school friend Jon (Leonard), a documentary filmmaker, which whey pass the time reminiscing about the good old times which take a turn when Vince records their conversation with Jon admitting to a possible date-rape of Vince's old girlfriend Amy played by Thurman, who later shows up and opens up a new wave of talk and arguments about whose story is fact or fabricated. Linklater has crafted a very intimate and intelligent movie that is fun to watch because the acting and dialogue is so good. It doesn't FEEL like it was acted, rather it feels unscripted and genuine. All three actors are extremely good here, showing their flare within the confines of this one set. Linklater keeps things visually interesting by incorporating good camera moves and snappy edits. For a fine movie experience by a great director and three great actors, you can't go wrong with "Tape".
86 Minutes
IFC Productions/InDigEnt/Lions Gate Films