Netflix Self-Torture Experiment Trilogy #32: Tape
This was a suggestion from @andricon who, if I remember correctly, claimed that it was worse than Battlefield Earth.
Synopsis from Netflix: After 10 years apart, three friends (Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard and Uma Thurman) reunite in a motel room to play out the unresolved drama of their final high school days. As layers of denial are peeled away, each character is provoked into revealing his or her true nature and motivation. A compelling drama, Tape examines the vast differences in how men and women interpret the same event.
My thoughts (spoilers included): I sort of enjoyed the concept of this movie: two (and eventually three) people in a motel room coming to terms with something that happened in the past—no scene changes or even any flashbacks. What I did not enjoy, though, were the subject matter and the execution.
The first ten or fifteen minutes involve Ethan Hawke defending his actions as a perpetrator of violence against women and stalking. Then the bulk of the rest of the film involves Robert Sean Leonard admitting to and subsequently trying to justify his actions as a date rapist. Things get more complicated when Ethan Hawke reveals that he has recorded the date rape confession and Uma Thurman (the victim of the act who may or may not have forgotten all about it) is coming over to visit.
Once she arrives there are some unspoken tense moments between Hawke and Leonard, and the viewer becomes curious as to whether or not Leonard will confess or if Hawke will reveal the tape to Thurman. These moments are definitely the highlight of the movie because, without giving away the ending, there really is no resolution.
I wish I could go in to more detail, but this film is at least interesting enough that I don’t want to reveal the ending (even though I was disappointed in it). Also, I’m sorry this review doesn’t contain any humor but obviously date rape isn’t anything to joke about. [Two out of five stars.]
