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For a movie purporting to be a comedy, Richard Linklater's Tape
doesn't leave us with a whole lot to laugh about. Perhaps its main trouble
lies in the fact that--like a lot of other films adapted from
stage-plays--it reproduces the claustraphobic quality of most typical
theatrical experiences just a tad too effectively for comfort (or,
eventually, for interest).
Shot on digital videotape in what looks like real time, the film's action
is confined to a single motel room for the complete duration of its
84-minute length. Imposing such restrictive parameters is a gamble, as Linklater well knows; without
visual invention or eye-candy to fall back on--Uma Thurman's spectacular
good looks aside--Tape can only rely on its script and performances
to supply the necessary fireworks.
Unfortunately, however, that's where everything stumbles. Though Tape is, like Linklater's other films, a project driven by conversation, it can't aspire to either Waking Life's existential fascination or Before Sunrise's gentle, pleasant sense of constant
re-invention. Instead, Stephen Belber has crafted a fairly arid, predictable
little psychodrama: "Good" person's sense of self-image is shaken by the
revelation of past crimes, "bad" person rants and raves, mysterious female
figure sobs, suffers and swears at both of them.
Left effectively stranded by this scenario, Linklater's experienced cast
produce some interesting material (Thurman--who's aging beautifully, by
Hollywood standards--shines, though her real-life husband Hawke has still a
ways to go in terms of convincing an audience he's dangerous to anyone but
himself), but soon get stymied by the medium they're working in: For tips
on how to bring emotional transitions across on video through subtle
means, rather than by consistent over-acting, everyone involved here raelly
needs to watch Brad Anderson's recent Hi-Definition video masterpiece
Session 9.
At best, Tape might potentially aspire to the status of a Gen-X
Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? scenario with a homocentric
twist--but in actuality, none of these people have lived long enough to have
gained the kind of perspective which might allow them to say anything
interesting about their own inherent self-contradictions. If you're a fan
looking for a true Linklater fix, do yourself a favor and see Waking Life instead.
Gemma Files
2nd Review
With this three-hander, Richard Linklater explores new territory as he adopts digital video to tell an intensely emotional story about the disintegration of a friendship.
Set in a motel room in Lansing, Michigan, Tape centres on wannabe firefighter Vince (Ethan Hawke), a disheveled and manic thirtysomething who keeps snorting coke and chugging back beers. When buddy John (Robert Sean Leonard), a filmmaker whose film is showing at the Lansing film festival, shows up to pick him up the story begins to evolve.
It seems that Vince and John go way back, but this particular evening Vince is acting strangely. Instead of going out to dinner, as the duo had arranged earlier, Vince convinces John to hang around explaining that one of their college friends, Amy, was also in town and that he was waiting for her to call.
That's when the tension begins. Through verbal cajoling, Vince extracts a terrible secret from John regarding their and Amyıs past, and then threatens to expose his friend once the girl shows. Well, once Amy (Uma Thurman) does enter the picture, Vince's recollection of past events is quickly challenged.
Based a play by Stephen Belber, Tape is a verbal sparring between two diverse characters: one volatile and insecure (Vince) and the other self-assured and logical (John). It takes an impartial and clear-minded third party (Amy) to finally resolve the situation.
Despite the claustrophobic and seedy environment, Tape works remarkably well because of the strong interaction between the performances. Hawke is fidgety and nervous as Vince, so much so that his is the least convincing performance. Leonard, whom Hawke had starred with in Dead Poet's Society, is stoic and solid, yet only slightly betraying that much-hidden vulnerability that John's preppy upbringing had induced. As to Thurman, she's as gorgeous and appropriate as expected.
Tape may not be Linklater's most commercial film, and certainly not his best, but as an exercise in digital filmmaking and in allowing the actors the freedom to deliver raw performances, it's definitely an admirable endeavour.
Angela Baldassarre
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