Tape (2001)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

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:

High School | Motel | Date Rape | Drugs | Tape Recorder

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: She's probably scared.
Vin: Oh god, of *what*? I never threatened her!
Jon: ...You sometimes present a threatening appearance.
Vin: Dude... we have been going together for three years.
Jon: So what?
Vin: So... I mean, you'd think she would be used to it by now.

Soundtrack:

I'm Sorry

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.