The Story:
Bound is a highly stylized and intense lesbian neo-noir crime thriller. Gina Gershon plays Corky, an ex-con fresh out of the slammer after serving five years for what she calls “the readjustment of wealth.” She gets a job renovating an apartment in a high-end building, where she runs into Violet (Jennifer Tilly) and her boyfriend Caesar (Joe Pantoliano) in the elevator. On the elevator, Violet makes eyes contact with Corky, then the doors open and they get out. When Corky opens the door to the apartment, she finds out that Violet and Caesar live one door down.
Corky gets back to work, then is interrupted when Violet comes for a visit with two cups of coffee. There’s more flirting, then Violet leaves. The next day, when Caesar is out, Corky gets a call to pull an earring out of a drain in the apartment next door. Violet watches while Corky rescues her earring. Once the job is done, the two women talk, and things quickly escalate to making out. Then Caesar comes home unexpectedly, killing the mood.
Introductions are made and Caesar mentions that he knows the type of people that are hired to work in the building, then asks Corky what she did to go to prison. Although Corky never comes clean on why she served time, Caesar reveals that he’s also in the business.
Later that evening Corky hears a mob associate, Shelly (Barry Kivel), being beaten and tortured in Violet and Caesar’s apartment. Upset by the violence, Violet turns up at the apartment Corky is working on and confides that Caesar and his brother Johnny (Christopher Meloni) are torturing Shelly for stealing from the family. The amount he stole is estimated to be two million dollars.
She also explains that Caesar is the son of the head of a well known crime family, and that Caesar and Johnny don’t get along. Once the money is found, Caesar will be trusted to bring it back to their place. She also says that she wants to leave Caesar but needs money to do it. And like any crime thriller, the two hatch a plan to steal the money.
Some Thoughts:
Bound works best when Gershon and Tilly are on the screen. They infuse the movie with dangerous elements that hold your attention and make you want more.
The femme fatal is played by Tilly with ease. She’s sexy, smart, and knows exactly how to draw Corky into her web. Every seductive move Tilly makes is infused with danger. She plays the part so well that it’s easy to see how Corky would be drawn into her game.
Gershon relishes playing the butch Corky, giving it her all. She sneers and saunters on the screen, creating a bold, strong, and unapologetic character. She knows who she is, what she wants, and how to get it. Gershon is spectacular.
As the brothers at odds with each other, Pantoliano and Meloni know how to make the characters believable. Their father is played adequately by Richard C. Sarafian. The three men don’t have demanding parts, but they bring them to life and notch up the tension when Violet and Corky’s scheme begins to fall apart.
This is the Wachowskis directorial debut and they do a great job staying true to classic film noir while giving Bound a modern twist. Although Bound is shot in color, it retains that classic crime thriller look.
Conclusion:
Bound is a fun and sexy thriller with style and panache. If you’re a fan of film noir or tense thrillers, this is for you.
