lizardjims
It is hard to accept the fact that I haven't ever heard of this great Neo-Noir, written and directed by the acclaimed Wachowski Brothers (Lana&Lilly) in the early stages of their career which reached its peak with ''The Matrix'' (1999). ''Bound'' is an absorbing crime/mystery with dashes of Hitchcockian suspense, having a solid plotline and great cast such as Joe Pantoliano and Jennifer Tilly who both deliver tremendous performances in their roles of a husband and wife, the former being a made mafioso and the latter a typical 'Damsel in Distress' who searches for a safe exit from the Mob's violent characters and proceedings, while becoming infatuated with her new neighbor (Gina Gershon's character). Tilly's character, acted with a mischievous- almost manipulative- sexiness and cynical determination, hatches a plan to rob her husband of mob money, with the guidance and support from her new lover. But, as always, reality doesn't follow the plan and things spiral out of control with a high body count and Caesar (J. Pantoliano's character) on the verge of a complete breakdown as he finds himself owing to his own mob family a sum of 2.000.000 dollars. The main theme of ''Bound'' is trust between humans and the risks that people are taking, based on the trust to a closely related person. The movie, apart from its references to classic Film-Noir, brought to my mind the early Joel&Ethan Coen pictures and plotwise it will somehow remind you of the superb ''Shallow Grave'' by Danny Boyle. This is a little-known gem that is certainly worth spending the approximately 100 minutes of your precious time and it will leave you wondering why it is so hard to find similar productions in the contemporary era.
Morten_5
A technically impressive directorial debut from The Wachowskis, with some interesting plot turns. The chemistry between Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon is great and their determined and clever female main characters are still quite fresh 21 years later.Twitter: @7thArtShortRevs (Mårten Larsson).
Prismark10
Bound is Wachowski's first film as writer/directors and put them in the map that led to the Matrix films.There is very little original about it. A non pastiche Coen Brother's modern film noir with Tarantino dollops of violence.Ex-con plumber Corky (Gina Gershon) moves in next door to gangster moll Violet's (Jennifer Tilly) apartment to redecorate and both become attracted to each other. It is one of the few mainstream films that actually offers a better portrayal of lesbian sex.Violet's gangster boyfriend Caesar (Joe Pantoliano) launders money for the mafia. The two women plot to steal $2 million from Caesar and frame him, so his bosses think he stole it. We already see the mafia's boss son sadistically torture one schmuck.The plan seems to be going fine but Ceasar does not run when he sees that the money is missing and starts to work things out leading to mayhem for the two women.There is nothing new in the plot and I found Tilly's acting rather off, her voice sounds like it has had a dose of helium.What the Wachowski's get right is to make a mean and tight thriller on a low budget making the best use of cinematography and art direction at their disposal.
SnoopyStyle
Corky (Gina Gershon) is a lesbian ex-con who is working as a handywoman in an apartment building owned by criminals. Violet (Jennifer Tilly) and Caesar (Joe Pantoliano) are the couple living next door to the room she's working on. Violet seduces Corky. Violet wants to run off and suggests stealing $2 million from Caesar who is laundering money for the mob.This has fabulous noir style. It is darkly beautiful. The Wachowskis show early on their amazing visual style. This is also very sexy due to the pairing of Gershon and Tilly. They are not only beautiful but they also have these magnetic personalities. They fit their roles so well. The Wachowskis add brutal violence to this heady mix for their impressive directorial debut.