Tape 錄影歹 Review: Bizhan Tong’s Cantonese Remake of Richard Linklater’s Tape is a Well-Acted Chamber Drama
Having recently revisited Richard Linklater’s Tape, I’m curious to see how Bizhan Tong’s Cantonese version would measure against the 2001 original, which itself, originally a play by Stephen Belber back in 1999. The premise remains intact: Three former high school friends reunite, resulting in a string of conversations that force them to revisit their past and how a long-buried secret blows wide open and changes everything.
But instead of a Michigan motel room, Tong transplants the story to a Hong Kong Airbnb flat, which takes place in Yuen Long. Wing (Adam Pak), who plays the Ethan Hawke part, is setting up a few tiny cameras hidden in strategic places before his longtime friend from high school, Jon (Kenny Kwan, portraying the role previously played by Robert Sean Leonard), arrives. At the beginning, it’s a casual reunion as the two laugh, teasing and catching up with each other, where they last met 15 years ago. We learn that Wing is volunteering as a lifeguard, while Jon is now an up-and-coming filmmaker who’s looking forward to his upcoming film festival debut in Hong Kong.
Their get-together gradually shifted into an uncomfortable zone when Wing brings up the past revolving Jon and Amy (Selena Lee, playing the Uma Thurman part). The two share a romantic history with the same girl, but Wing is eager to find out what happened between Jon and Amy when they engaged in a sexual relationship. Tension soon escalates as the conversation becomes a series of rage-filled arguments. Truth is gradually exposed, and as if the situation isn’t stressful enough, Amy shows up in Wing’s flat, and the plot thickens.
Like Richard Linklater’s version, Tong unveils the whole scene in real time. He sticks to the conventional filmmaking style, unlike Linklater, who goes experimental with his movie shot entirely on DV cameras in a run-and-gun style with lots of handheld aesthetics. Although Tong’s traditionalist approach makes the single-location chamber drama more like a stage play, his movie doesn’t feel stagnant, thanks largely to the better-than-expected cast. Adam Pak and Kenny Kwan aren’t exactly the immediate names in my mind that I would associate with their acting prowess, but in the case of Tape, Tong manages to bring out the best in them.
Pak brings a raw energy to his volatile portrayal as Wing, who is constantly drinking cans of beer and taking drugs. His role contrasts well with Kenny Kwan’s level-headed Jon, whose initially measured emotion and composure soon trigger him into reacting aggressively as Wing keeps pressing him about the latter’s sexual incident with Amy. The on-screen dynamics between Pak and Kwan’s respective characters is both subtly executed without falling prey to over-the-top histrionics.
Then comes Selena Lee, who only appears halfway in the movie, but she commands her scenes from the moment she enters the flat. She even steals the show from Pak and Kwan, offering a role which alternates between resilient and vulnerable as we see how her character copes with the past between her and Jon. While all three actors have their fair share of moments, credits also go to Tong for delving into the cultural differences that deal with sex-related and relationship issues while referencing the Me Too movement through the localised perspective of Asian culture.
A significant difference that deviates from Richard Linklater’s version is the addition of flashbacks in the opening and final scenes, both of which take place during the night when Wing, Jon and Amy (played by Angus Yeung, Mason Fung and Summer Chan respectively) met on the beach. Personally, I would prefer if Tong omit these scenes entirely and maintain the whole movie’s setting within the confines of a single location.
