Film Studies
In this essay, we are going to talk about a movie ‘Tape’ directed by Richard Linklater. In order to reveal the main idea of the movie, we are going to analyze it due to the list of following aspects: setting, characterization, plot, structure, a point of view, theme, etc. As there only three characters in the movie, we are going to choose one and provide his full analyses. In order to achieve the best result, we will provide a complete wide picture of characters’ relations with each other.
1. Setting
The first scene of the film as all the following events is happening in the motel room number 19, in Lansing, Michigan. One of the main characters, Vince, rents the room in order to support his best friend in the Lansing Film Festival. His friend, John, is a filmmaker and this festival is his debut. The room 19 is a small still tidy room. There is not much space in it, which makes the movement in the room quite limited and make the scene more intimate. The setting of the room helps to bare the emotions of the characters and makes it impossible to hide anything. No matter where a character stands, he/she will be seen by the other present in the room. Due to that, we can consider the room to be a cage or a kind of a trap for our characters. The action lasts in the real time. It means that the viewer experiences a whole hour of life of the three main characters.
2. Characterization
In the movie, we have three main characters. They are Vince, Jon, and Amy. In the first scene, we can see a man who drinks beer. Judging his drinking process (one beer he drinks and the other he pours out in the sink), we can presume that this is not his first beer. He is dressed only in shorts and a shirt. His movements are both smooth and sharp. He even does some push-ups. At first, we can think that he is a former sportsman maybe, a baseball player. His look makes the viewer think that he is a kind of a drug user.
In the next scene, the friend of the previous character, Vince, comes. He dressed very nice. From the first sight, he seems to be a successful and polite man, who has his life ‘figure out’. At first, they seem to be an antithesis of one another. Still, we get to know that they know each other from the high school, where they were the best friends. Jon now is a filmmaker. He seems to have a strong life position and a certain plan. Vince, a baffling character, tells Jon that his girl broke up with him because of his behavior. Here, we have the first dispute between two friends. Where John is accusing Vince in being inclined ‘to violent tendencies’. Vince begins to argue with him and the setting is heating up. We can see that Vince relives his high school experience and do not want to grow up. His life is a mess. He is a drug dealer/volunteer firefighter who provides a fired coach with drugs. We can assume that he is not about to do any of serious decisions in his life.
The last character is a woman, Amy, who is also their former high school friend. From the very beginning, she seems to be insecure and full of doubts. The way she acts makes the viewer both sympathize her and do not trust her at all. As the conversation flows, we get to know that she is an assistant of a district attorney.
The main thing that distracts the most is the tense of all the conversations happening. Two friends meet in the hotel room; one came in order to support the other’s success. What can be wrong? From the very beginning of the story, the viewers will have only one question, ‘Why are they so tense?’ The answer comes as quick as it is possible.
3. Plot and Structure
The action takes place in the hotel room, during an hour. At first, we see the conversation between two friends, who happened to discuss the life and plans for the future of each other. Vince is accusing Jon of being a ‘perfect’ planner and tries to remind him of things he did at the high school in order to contaminate his clean reputation. In his turn, Jon tries to explain to Vince that life is not a high school anymore that they are grown-ups now. He tells him that the thing of high school is ‘to evolve into something after it’. Moreover, this is the main difference between them. Vince wants ‘to drink whiskey in the morning’ (Tape)and Jon ‘tries to become a certain type of a man’ (Tape). We cannot understand the type of connection between them without further details.
Vince continues the topic of Jon questionable deed. Jon seems to be very nervous about it and wants to avoid discussing it. During the whole movie, he tries to leave five times. Still, Vince obsessively wants Jon to stay and confess to his crime. Jon does what Vince want him to do. In the high school, Jon raped Vince ex-girlfriend, who turns to be Amy. The excitement Vince discloses after the confession is bizarre. Nevertheless, he reaches for the bag on the floor and gets a cassette recorder with Vince words recorded on a tape. This confession and the tape become both climaxes and turning points of the whole story. Now, the viewer understands and can relate to the action of both characters.
4. Point of view
There is no strictly defined point of view. At first, it is Vince, who talks the most and shares with us his thoughts and ideas. Then, it is Jon, who tries to clear his name and make his friend understand the motive of his deed. The last speaker is Amy, who clear everything out. At first, the narration is dull. The viewer needs to have additional information to get something out of their conversations. Still, such kind of a narration makes a shift of affection towards characters possible. At first, the viewers feel sympathy for Jon who is accused of nothing by his addicted friend. Then, we feel sympathy for Vince because his life is partly ruined because of the deed of his best friend. Further, we follow the next shift of affection. Now the viewers sympathize Amy, who has to confirm the act of her raping in front of her two ex-boyfriends. The last shift follows Amy’s police call. Still, we not sure that there is a shift of affection. We cannot sympathize those men anymore. There is just a shift of attention from Amy towards Jon and Vince, who for five minutes have their life burnt to ashes.
5. Symbolism
We can define two most prominent symbols in this movie. The first is the bag on the floor, which can be interpreted as a symbol of mystery. Jon asks many times about the content of the bag, which seems to be like an obsessive idea of his. Still, Vince never answers to this question completely. Then, we figure out that the cassette recorder is hidden there.
The second is a tape, which symbolizes the things in life that cannot be erased. With the help of the tape, Vince blackmails Jon in order to shame him not only in front of Amy but also in front of Jon himself. He shows Jon that he is not perfect. He is just like Vince with drawbacks and mishaps.
6. Theme
We believe that the main idea of the movie is to show that there are things in life, which cannot be changed and forgiven. No matter how many years have passed, Vince still cannot forgive his friend’s betrayal, as well as the betrayal of his ex-girlfriend. Amy feels the same thing. She remembers Vince raping her even when she tries to show her indifference. The viewers know that she is insulted. The story repeats with Jon. A man, with his life figured out, is trapped in the cage of his past, which cannot be changed and resolved with an apology.
7. Tone
We can presume that the author of the story has no sympathy to any of the characters. There is a scene of total shame for every one of them. When the situation is on the edge Amy gives up and call the police. This is the moment, when all of their dreams are broken. Jon realizes that his career is over because of the rape scene. Vince understands that he should run because of drugs. However, Amy is calm.
The tone of the story is tensed, dull, sad, and critical. The author accused each of the characters in some wrong deed of their past, which led them to the life they live now. Still, the end of the story is something near positive. All the characters lost every piece of pride they have. They confess in everything and they lost everything in an hour when Amy says that she does not call the police.
Works cited
Tape. Tape Productions, USA: Richard Linklater, 2001. DVD.
