Courtesy Photo
"BOUND"
108 minutes | Rated: R
Opened: Friday, October 4, 1996
Written & directed by Andy & Larry Wachowski
Starring Jennifer Tilly, Gena Gershon, Joe Panoliano, Christopher Meloni, John P. Ryan, Richard C. Sarfian, Barry Kivel, Susie Bright, Margaret Smith
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This film is on the Best of 1996 list.
COUCH CRITIQUE
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SMALL SCREEN SHRINKAGE: 10%
LETTERBOX: RECOMMENDED
Loses almost no punch on small screen. But stunning noir photography really should be seen in all its wide-screen glory.
DVD SPOTLIGHT
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Unrated version (60 extra seconds in sex scene). Quirky but engrossing early DVD-era commentary with people coming and going from the recording session. Wachowskis and lesbian sex consultant Susie Bright (who played the woman Gershon hits on in the bar) wing it through fascinating behind-the-scenes facts. Gershon and Tilly show up late in the commentary to add to the mix.
NOTABLE BONUS MATERIAL
Commentary and extra footage as noted above; original trailer (quite a departure from the film)
SPECS
1.85:1 ratio; Dolby 5.1; English, Spanish subtitles; French dub,
DIGITAL TRANSFER
Excellent
DVD RATING: ****
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Sexy moll, lesbian lover risk it all to boost $2 mill from mob in ingeniously twisty noir thriller
In spite of a slightly male fantasy take on lesbianism in the first 10 minutes, "Bound" quickly takes off into a labyrinth storyline of lust, money and back-stabbing betrayal that turns into the most nail-biting thriller of the year.
Mobster moll Jennifer Tilly (who somehow becomes less and less annoying with each role she plays) and her lover/next door neighbor Gina Gershon have a flawless plan to steal $2 million in drug money from the mob while it's in the care of her beau, Joe Pantoliano.
The girls have it all figured out, planned down to the most minute detail but Joe, being the victim, isn't on the same page and when he discovers the money is missing and tries to cover his ass, their plan goes to hell and Tilly and Gershon try to not become part of the mounting body count.
A constant, gripping danger drives "Bound." It opens with a scene of Gershon tied up and knocked unconscious in Tilly's closet and then moves backwards in time to where the events began, leaving the audience knowing something goes wrong and wondering which characters to trust.
Full of artfully shot scenes, the film gives your right brain something to feast on while the left tries to work out who's double-crossing who.
In one scene Pantoliano gets shot while standing in a pool of white paint, his blood splashing and seeping into the whitewash. In another, the scene people will talk about, the two women make love as the camera circles the bed, tightly focused on various body parts -- Gershon's fisted feet, a close-up of her lips (are those real?), etc.
"Bound" is the kind of thriller that makes you want to stick around for the next showing to work out details that threw you the first time because you were so wrapped up in the tension.
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