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Rating:  -
First of all, I am a HUUUGE fan of Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke. When I first saw Dead Poets' Society, I was absolutely blown away---and then I heard that this dynamic duo was in yet another movie together, and I HAD to check it out.
Thank goodness I did.
TAPE is a wonderful thriller in the sense that there is no music, no change of setting, but simply the characters, Amy, Vincent, and John. You have these three and their words. No change of costume---these three virtually had nothing to work with but their chemistry with one another and their absolute superb acting abilities. The ending is rather ambiguous, and leaves you wondering exactly what DID happen.
(And as a fangirl sidenote, seeing Ethan Hawke do the "P-A-R-T-Y, party, party,")
Just watch, you won't be disappointed.
Rating: -
I started out to watch only the first five minutes and immediately became engrossed in the film. There was tremendous acting and energy in the film that made you almost forget the dinginess of the setting. When Uma Thurman blew in, it was like a breath of fresh air. Although the juxtapositioning of the actors was good when there were two in the room, three really brought out the film's artistry by the careful use of limited physical space. I also loved the projection of a drug user/seller with a brain--albeit, a slightly twisted one. Unfortunately, I thought the ending was too contrived and trivialized. I would have preferred an ending where the characters all learned something from the experience. It was such an opportunity to show how rape can really traumatize but Uma's flip and secure attitude about the experience projected an angry view that didn't scratch the surface. I hope Linklater brings these three back together for another similar type film--but fully tackles the issue next time.
Rating: -
3 great actors. Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Uma Thurman star and act it all out in a small motel room...their main subject...a tape. What evolves is a merry go round of confessions, denials, and what did or didn't happen 10 years ago in their senior year of high school. Clever writing keeps this movie and watchers on their toes endlessly anticipating the outcome, the truth, and the characters true nature.
This is what movie making is all about. All you need is a camera, and not a fancy one at that, a good script, and two...or even better three great actors and you have yourself a very entertaining indie film.
It goes to show you don't need high tech graphics to lure in the attention of movie lovers. Dialogue is key and Tape goes all the way and brings us honesty ( Uma Thurman's pained face and tearful eyes ) reaction ( Ethan Hawke's flawless portrayal of the guy who never grew up ) and redemption ( Robert Sean Leonard's realistic depiction of an accused man going the extra mile to argue his way out of problem ).
All of this movie is worth the time, only 83 minutes and not a second wasted.
Will we see these fine actors in more great roles to come?
Rating: -
This is a great little movie with a surprising turn of events. As I was watching this movie I felt like I was seeing a play which is perfectly accurate because this movie is based on the stage play of the same name. All of the three actors do a fantastic job with their roles and this little movie is worth watching for the acting alone which is superb.
Ethan Hawke is excellent as Vince the dope dealer and dope user who first confronts Johnny (Robert Sean Leonard)about the possibility that he date raped his girlfriend in high school played by Hawke's then wife the very sexy and talented Uma Thurman (who is wonderful as Amy, the girl that Johnny supposedly raped).
I won't say anymore and I'll let you decide for yourself. I was very impressed with this movie and is a shame that it didn't get the kind of acceptance when it was first release. I don't remember seeing this movie released in theatres. Again, if you don't get anything out of it which I'm sure that you will see it for the acting which is superb by all three actors. I love a movie that has great actors in it. To me that is what is all about the acting. DON'T MISS THIS ONE.
Rating:  -
This film took me two days to decide whether I liked it or not. When the final credits rolled, rather creatively at that, I couldn't figure out if this was pure brilliance on the part of Richard Linklater, or if it was nothing more than a group of friends trying to make an independent film. I could not decide. I even listened to the audio commentary of Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater to see if I could capture their mood of the film to hopefully influence mine. While it was a very interesting audio commentary, it only provided more indecisiveness. After thinking about this for two days, I finally thought about it long enough and realized that if a film makes you think for two days after viewing, there has to be something spectacular about it, and there was. After two days I was able to put my finger on it. You had a very chilling story, a deeply disturbing confession, a powerhouse of acting by Robert Sean Leonard and Uma Thurman, and then there was Ethan Hawke. I put him aside because it was his acting, his portrayal of Vince that took away the inches of film that nearly made it into perfection. Let me explain.
This is a story, that on the surface seems small, is very large in structure. While its only setting is inside a motel room, the written word by Stephen Belber transforms this into a thrilling drama about past lives and future consequences. From the opening scene of Hawke throwing his beers into the motel door until the final dramatic conclusion where Vince is caught up in the web of his own lies, we never really know anything about him. Leonard talks briefly about what he is doing and why he is currently single, but we never really get to know Ethan's character. This is what muddled in my mind for those two days, I continually had to ask myself who Vince really was. Was he a friend trying to help Leonard with a guilty conscious, or was he on the side of Amy trying to give her the conclusion that she wanted. Who knows? I think I needed more structure with Ethan's Vince. We needed more from Linklater to help us understand this self-appointed villain, or even more from Ethan to reveal his ultimate purpose. Instead, what occurred was Ethan just jumping around being annoying with no purpose except what you could hear Linklater telling him. Here is what I could hear: "Ok, Ethan, your purpose in this scene is to ensure that Leonard doesn't leave, do whatever it takes". Ethan takes this direction and adds a couple of swear words and uses screaming to keep him in the room instead of countering with more plot. Does this make sense? I felt like I knew why Leonard and Thurman were there in that room, but WHY Ethan was bringing them together was never told. I know that perhaps it was left up to the viewer, but this story needed a hint. It needed to provide some reasoning for the situation. I felt Ethan held us back from learning that. Someone else in the role may have done better, but Ethan just felt lost and stagy.
As I said before, Leonard and Thurman really carried this film on their shoulders. I was impressed to see Leonard taking such heavy work, but his true acting ability really came forth. The same goes for Uma who successfully took the idea of "husband and wife" away while working with Ethan. I was concerned that it would be a factor in Tape, but luckily these two were able to keep their characters separate. The chemistry that Leonard and Thurman had on screen was shattering. I found myself holding my breath during their parts from both emotion and the tension that they created. Outside of Ethan, they did a great job.
The story was a very tight story. I loved being brought into the middle of this controversy and seeing that a world can be created and destroyed in a hotel room. I thought that concept was a hard one to tackle, but Stephen Belber (who also wrote the play) did a fantastic job of eliminating the corporate element and giving us the pure human drama that exists between these characters. Linklater likewise really pulls this film together well by keeping the tensions high and elaborate as our characters progress through the phases of this predicament. The only trouble I had with Linklater's direction deals with his swirling camera. Whenever two people were talking to each other we found ourselves swirling between the two instead of using one large shot or quick cuts. I thought this was annoying at times, and quite dizzying. It detracted from the words that the actors were speaking and from the impact of the story. That is my only critique of Linklater's direction, which was nearly flawless.
Overall, this was an impressive and very intense drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat due to its strong reality and human element. It took me a while for me to realize this, and will probably take some time for it to sink into your mind, but that is the nature of this film. It is created to leave this lasting impression on your mind and to haunt your mind during your next visit with friends. I think Linklater did an excellent job with the material that he was handed, proving that his work could be compared to early Cameron Crowe material. Leonard and Thurman explode onto the scene, while Hawke leaves a bit more to be desired. I do believe that Linklater should have considered another actor for his role. Either way, this was a great film that took away the classic Hollywood backdrop and gave us nothing but 100% pure acting.
Grade: **** out of *****
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