"Richard Linklater's 2001 movie Tape, and Stephen Belber's 1999 play that preceded it, were ahead of the curve in their targeting of male sexual violence, blurred lines of consent, performative apologies and self-victimising aggressors. Now comes a remake from Hong Kong for the post-#MeToo era. It makes a few updates, such as situating the film in an Airbnb apartment (instead of a motel room), where two old high-school friends convene."
"In Tong's scenario, flippant lifeguard and small-time drug-dealer Wing (Adam Pak) invites his straight-laced school buddy Chong (Kenny Kwan) over to shoot the breeze at his apartment. Initially they smoke spliffs and banter testily about their diverging life paths; the latter, now going by the anglicised name of Jon, has become a promising low-budget film-maker."
"Linklater's 2001 film used digital video to invasively probe the room, and pointedly employed the new technology to interrogate the cultural moment when barriers between public and private identities were breaking down. The questions in the new film are the same: is Jon inwardly remorseful or only serving up contrition because he realises his alleged crime can be exposed? Is Wing really interested in justice or somehow making amends for his own alluded-to transgressions?"
Richard Linklater's 2001 Tape and Stephen Belber's 1999 play prefigured scrutiny of male sexual violence, blurred consent, performative apologies and self-victimising aggressors. A Hong Kong remake updates the setting to an Airbnb where two former high-school friends meet. Wing invites Jon; they smoke and banter until Wing provokes Jon into confessing he raped Amy, then reveals webcams have recorded their exchange. Linklater's original used digital video to probe public/private identity breakdowns. The remake poses the same questions about genuine remorse and Wing's motives. Tong's film uses lighting to mark phases but is reverential and visually bland compared with Linklater's sharper vocabulary.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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