Bound
Starring Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly, Joe Pantoliano.
Written & Directed by the Wachowski brothers.
Genre: Thriller
Released: 1996
Running time: 108 mins/109 mins (Uncut USA version)
Rated: R (American rating for strong sexuality, violence and language).
IMDb link: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0115736/
You
may have heard of a little film by the name of The Matrix, and its
follow-up films Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions. I think there
might even be an official book of Matrix-inspired haikus in addition to
all the other Matrix crap thats exploded all over the place and
saturated every form of media there is today
If you know about
The Matrix, you most likely also know about the Wachowski brothers, the
shadowy pair of nerds responsible for the three multi-million-dollar
epics. I wasnt a huge fan of the first Matrix, and I thought the
follow-ups were sombre exercises in futility. This isnt mentioning how
irksome I find it that the Wachowskis rely more on action than anything
relating to some sort of character development, but Im getting
sidetracked. Were here to talk about Bound, the directorial debut for
the brothers, whose only previous studio credit had been as writers of
the completely forgettable Stallone/Banderas film Assassins. Whats
Bound all about?
Gina Gershon plays Corky, a chick fresh out
of prison and looking to set her life straight. She accepts a job
renovating an apartment in a ritzy apartment complex where she runs
into Violet (Jennifer Tilly), a former dancer and current girlfriend of
mob accountant Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). Corky and Violet are instantly
attracted to each other, and its not long before they begin having an
affair. Caesar is oblivious to this as he has bigger problems. Hes just
been given the task of counting a pile of cash that totals roughly two
million dollars (as well as finding a way to clean off the blood
splattered on it by the moneys previous owner). With two million
dollars sitting right next door, ripe for the taking, Corky and Violet
have to see whether or not they can trust each other when they decide
to steal it.
Bound is by no means a brilliant film, and I
hesitated including it here. It's interesting because of what it tries
to do with the film noir genre a genre thats been explored many times
over from many different angles. The new twist on this thriller is, of
course, that the protagonist is a woman. A gay woman whose love
interest is, of course, another woman. Already it sounds salacious, Ill
grant youand to a degree, it is. The whole lesbian angle is done for
more than just the kicks of the writers/directors and the males in the
audience. Though it starts off feeling somewhat clich and exploitative,
it evolves beyond that.
The sex scene, though graphic by some
standards, doesnt really ring as gratuitous. Maybe the fact that the
Wachowskis had noted sex author (and lesbianthough I dont know if you
can really put that on your resum) Susie Bright work as a consultant
for it. The lesbians arent here to be subjects to the male gaze. Theyre
here to be characters, as valid as any other. Its really something to
be appreciated, and fairly commendable on the part of the Wachowskis
for taking a shot at.
Otherwise, its a fairly standard
noir-ish thriller, with the stock twists and turns that youd expect. If
Corky were a male, thered be absolutely nothing remarkable about this
film, a few fine performances aside. It would just be a fairly standard
Hollywood thriller, but the fact that so many conventions are broken by
having the protagonists be a lesbian couple really makes Bound
something worth consideration. Whether or not you think its a fair
and/or accurate portrayal of a same-sex couple is up to you. But hey,
at least they gave it a shot, and they made something pretty cool in
the process.
Next week: ZOMBIES!
Tags:
Love time US Movie Music Reviews Film Movies 
