Tape
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, Uma Thurman
Director: Richard Linklater
Shot entirely in digital video, this first DVD release of the quirky independent film "Tape" is an interesting experience. The film, directed by acclaimed director Richard Linklater ("Slacker," "Dazed and Confused"), stars Ethan Hawke as Vince, a 28-year-old drug dealer and alcoholic who's gotten a job as a volunteer firefighter in an effort to convince himself he has a "normal" life. Playing opposite Hawke is Robert Sean Leonard ("Dead Poets Society") as John Salter, an up-and-coming director whose first film is about to be screened at the Lansing Film Festival.
Hawke is engaging as the violent and blunt Vince, and Leonard is equally engaging as the passive-aggressive John, but the film itself suffers from its production values. While it's admirable that filmmakers are experimenting with digital as the latest format for making low-budget films, the cinematography and the quality of the picture in "Tape" is extremely distracting. This could be because of a bad tape-to-film transfer, but all in all the picture just looks bad. Combined with frequently bouncy camera work, the cinematography seriously detracts from the experience.
"Tape" began life as a play, a fact that becomes abundantly obvious about five minutes into the film when you realize that the characters are never, ever going to leave the hotel room the movie begins in. This means that the visual side of the movie gets boring fast. Combine this bland visual element with the fact that for the first two thirds of the movie there are only two characters in the room, and you get tired of looking at the screen.
In terms of DVD features, "Tape" is pretty sparse; it comes in Dolby Stereo and features a commentary track with Linklater and Hawke. Aside from the mandatory ability to jump to any scene in the film via a scene selection menu, that's it.
Despite the technical problems in this film the acting and dialogue in "Tape" is way above par, and when Uma Thurman finally arrives in the third act, she brings her considerable talents to the table.
While visually uninteresting, "Tape" is certainly worth seeing, as long as you're watching it for the performances and not for eye candy.
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