Review of Tape (2001) by Lisbeth W — 12 Mar 2008

I was really excited to see this, but I can't say I was a huge fan.

The script was very well done. None of the dialogue seemed phony, and the way things were revealed was perfect. For that, I loved the first 40 minutes of the film. You kept peeling back layers and layers and learning more about each character... just really intriguing stuff.

However, it was shortly after the main "plot point" occurred that I started to dislike this. What had been an interesting character study turned into something absurd. The dialogue, although still well thought out, became really overdone and obnoxious to listen to. In fact, a lot of the conversations involving Uma Thurman almost reminded me of the whole Abbott and Costello "Who's on first?" sketch. Having three characters who are each playing their own mind games, while at the same time seemingly not being on the same page at each other, is very overbearing for the viewer. For characters whom had been so interesting and complex throughout the majority of the film, it almost seemed like they became mindless drones incapable of answering questions with more questions.

Despite the flaws, the acting was very well done and the writing is very well constructed. However, I felt the plot became less and less believable as things became more chaotic.

First half is great, but the last half is a headache.