Tape

Directed by Richard Linklater, Tape follows a pair of high-school buddies (Ethan Hawke’s Vin and Robert Sean Leonard’s Jon) as they reunite in a dingy motel room and reminisce about the past. It’s low-key subject matter that’s employed to erratic yet basically watchable effect by Linklater, as the filmmaker, armed with Stephen Belber’s screenplay, delivers a subdued drama that benefits substantially from the top-notch efforts of its actors – with Hawke and Leonard (and, eventually, Uma Thurman) turning in engaging and periodically electrifying work that elevates the proceedings on a recurring basis. And although Linklater has suffused the narrative with a handful of admittedly unexpected twists and turns, Tape does, for the most part, suffer from a filmed-play vibe that’s exacerbated by Maryse Alberti’s often distractingly low-rent cinematography (and Linklater’s ongoing penchant for dizzying whip pans) – which, in turn, ensures that the picture never becomes quite as engrossing or enthralling as Linklater has obviously intended. The final result is a decent-enough endeavor that fares best as a showcase for three impressively captivating performances, as it’s clear that Tape, in the hands of less talented actors, had the potential to come off as a dry, slow-moving slog.

**1/2 out of ****