Film Review - Bound

Wow! There are filmmakers who know how to make a movie, and there are filmmakers who have honed a craft. The Wachowski brothers are the latter. Bound is nothing short of incredible!

Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon play a lesbian couple who plot to steal $2 million from the mob. Throughout the film, there's a sexual tension and attraction between them. Joe Pantoliano is the gangster they're trying to set up. He's kind of clueless about the women, because he's doing Jennifer Tilly himself.

Of course, things don't go exactly as hoped for and you never know what will happen next. Will either of the women betray the other? Will the gangster ever figure out what is really happening? Who's going to end up dead? You just don't know from scene to scene. I liked that, the tension in the film keeps you glued to the screen.

The Wachowski brothers are really into strange angles: cameras coming out of pistol barrels or out of a lighting fixture. The camera follows along the wire of a phone call, even following the kinks in the cord (I fell out of my chair). There are clever transitions where camera movement between two shots is matched to build a seamless cut. It reminded me of the great cutting in Highlander.

This is an above-average simple story with a kinky twist. Most of the scenes happen within two apartments, between a small number of characters. We understand everyone's motives, and the characters are very genuine.

What I could have done without was parts of the torture scene. A mobster has been caught skimming, and is getting his head banged into a toilet because he won't talk. (This is how the 2 million bucks ends up in the apartment.) When the mob gets tired of banging his head into the toilet, they decide to cut off his fingers one by one. I didn't need to see the severed finger hit the floor. I would have been just a grossed out by hearing the "snip" of the clippers and the screaming of the victim. However, it's still one hell of a scene.

The balance sheet tips very much in Bound's favor. If seeing lesbian sex and/or the torture scene isn't going to kill you, then get in line now!

No Suction!

Film Facts

Directed by The Wachowski Brothers

Released in 1996

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewed by Mongo