Bound - Torbido inganno

I cannot think of a film that creates a more elaborate and intelligent sequence of events than Bound. This leads to that and that leads to something else and that leads to this and so on. What is special about this film, is that everything is connected. This is not Tarantino nonsense, that has no point and simply tries to rely on gimmicks and witty dialog. This is a clever thriller. The story centers around Corky, Violet and Caesar, who in one way or another, are involved in a plan to scam the mob. Of course, scamming the mob is never a good idea. Issues of trust, loyalty, love, violence and everything else are covered. There are very arousing sex scenes and scenes of disturbing violence, utilizing pruning shears. All of it choreographed beautifully by two very talented brothers. However,it is Joe Pantoliano who steals the show. He plays a wiseguy that gets caught in a downward spiral that can only finish one way, but he does his best to delay it. How he was omitted by the Academy is beyond me. To the pompous nitwits that peck away at this film, I have one question. What Hollywood films in the last ten years can you reel off that were nearly as clever as this film? Yeah, I thought so. **** out of ****, a simply brilliant motion picture.

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.

This movie was a pleasant surprise. It came out in 1996, when dramatic films with a strong erotic content were still in vogue. Perhaps it is one of the last to have known some success, in fact. Understandably, the film remained very much alive in the heydays of VHS, I think it made its way to DVD, but gradually fell into oblivion where it currently rests. Is it deserved? Maybe not, but it's understandable to a certain extent: it's not an excellent film, but it will be a good bet for anyone who likes erotic thrillers.

The screenplay is based on the lesbian case of two women, who become involved and decide to run away with a large fortune in mafia money, incriminating the mafia boyfriend of one of them. This is a script devoid of any kind of originality and that can only surprise for the lesbian content and the high dose of nudity, because all the violence, the profanity, the strong dialogues, the fast scenes, all of these are elements that we all expected. In a film of this type.

The work of the directors is excellent and opened the doors to the "Matrix" franchise, with which they would come to consecrate themselves before falling back into obscurity from which they rarely manage to rise. They managed to insert many nuances of film noir into a strongly erotic plot, including the aesthetics and lighting of several scenes, and the sets, costumes, cinematography and soundtrack are truly good.

The two leading actresses are Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly. None of them are great actresses, each of them has had their moments of brilliance in films where they have minor roles, and I don't think they will ever go beyond that. So, what they do here is interesting because they both showed commitment and gave a lot to the project. It doesn't mean they are extraordinarily talented or great actresses. The fact is that they got a good partnership on stage, they have a strong and credible chemistry, and the film builds on top of that effectively. As an actor, Joe Pantoliano is better and gives us the best interpretation of the film, and it's worth seeing the actor working with them.

Violet is a gangster's moll, living with Caesar, who launders money for the mob. Corky is a ex-con who has been hired to decorate the flat next door to Caesar's flat. When the two meet they slowly begin a love affair behind Caesar's back. After a while Violet comes up with a plan to steal mob money and frame Caesar for it while she and Corky make off with the cash. However, there is no such thing as a simple plan.

I saw this when it was released in the cinema where the overall view seemed to be of an enjoyable noir thriller with a lesbian twist. A few years later, the Matrix has made the Wachowski brothers hotter than hot and everyone is clambering all over Bound and building up it's status and pointing to it as a hint of greatness. Now, after two poor Matrix sequels, many will come back to this film as a sign of their ability before the dollars became more important. That's the impression I get anyway, from the message boards, reviews and comments from proper critics. However, I rewatched this and tried to meet it on it's own terms rather than be coloured.

Of itself, it does the business quite effectively as a noir crime thriller. The plot is tough and, although not all that twisty, does easily engage and keep the audience pretty gripped. The lesbian stuff is done a little cynically I think - where do you draw the line between stuff that is required for us to know that the two are lovers, and the stuff that is titillation? I don't know, the film does it all very tastefully and it is not the film's fault that some sections of the audience will come to this film because it has a lesbian love scene in it. I acknowledge that it was done quite sexily and was part of the film, but the crime is the focus.

The brothers direct with great style - set mainly in a couple of flats, the film moves slickly around the place. Some shoot outs do reveal a style that was later used in the Matrix films (albeit on a sci-fi level). The slow-mo stuff is pretty good here and not overly used - little tricks like the shooting over the white paint added to the style of the film no end. Despite being bogged down in a story I believe they took too seriously, I don't think they need to prove themselves as directors - their films speak for themselves in that regard, and I do hope they get back in the saddle.

The cast is deep in talent but mostly they play it in the stereotypical characters of the genre. Tilly is a great moll, at first she appears to be the delicate flower of the film, but she is as much a femme fatale as Corky. Gershon is very sexy, despite being very glamorous for a supposedly butch ex-con; she plays her role well although I would have liked to see her become more of a fall guy towards the end, in true noir fashion - fooled by love! Pantoliano is enjoyable; his character may not have a lot of meat on it but Joe does very well with a powerful performance. Support from Meloni and Ryan is good even if they all fit the gangster clichés required by the script.

Overall this is an enjoyable genre film - no more and no less. The lesbian stuff is a nice twist on the usual formula but it isn't pushed enough to be classed as exploitative (although there's no doubt that the film gained audience as a result of the love scenes). The cast are good and the direction is stylish, making for a slickly enjoyable noir.

Let's get one thing straight at the start - the Brits aren't very good at sex. Obviously we're good enough to procreate and what have you, but when it comes to movies, we don't have a clue. What's more, we still have a strong streak of the Victorian puritan ethic running through us. This accounts for the fact that, in the period running up to Bound's cinema release, certain British newspapers hyped up the explicit lesbian content with a kind of outraged glee.

And, of course, when someone says "Disgusting - it ought to be banned!" then you want to see it all the more, don't you? So there I am, looking forward to a little girl on girl action (and it's there alright, filmed in tasteful arty stark contrast), and what do I get? A bloody good crime thriller, that's what.

There are many comments here, so I'll just say two things.

One, this is not the outrageous lesbian free-for-all which it was made out to be by certain elements of the British press. The relationship between the two women is absolutely essential to the credibility of what follows.

And, two, this is a film which you watch for the first time in a state of almost unbearable stress. I do not recall ever seeing another film in which extreme tension is maintained so well for such a sustained period.