BOUND

SYNOPSIS:
Corky (GINA GERSHON) is an ex-con who’s been hired to remodel an apartment next door to one owned by Caesar (JOE PANTOLIANO), a man who launders money for the Mafia. His girlfriend, Violet (JENNIFER TILLY), is instantly attracted to Corky and they begin a torrid love affair. After Caesar and other Mafiosi torture and kill another man who was stealing money from them, Violet tells Corky she wants out of that relationship. Corky discovers that Caesar has the two million dollars in his apartment, and that Gino, the head of the Mafia family, will pick up the money along with his son, Johnny, who doesn’t get along with Caesar. She devises a plan to steal the money and set up Caesar for the fall. Things get really tense when Mafioso Mickey (JOHN RYAN) comes looking for his missing boss.

Review by Andrew L. Urban:
Like the Cohen brothers, Larry and Andy Wachowsky create the blackest of comedies with unforgettable characters, innovative direction and an imaginative, tight script that keeps you guessing. Pretty well everything is black - from (Aussie) Lizzie Gardiner’s wardrobe - stockings, tattoos, leather jackets, little black dresses, T-shirts - to the lines: "I didn’t give him a good towel," Caesar says to Violet, after he hands a thug a towel to mop up tortured, bloodied Shelly. Gershon and Tilly are absolutely riveting together and bring a partnership with the complexities of Thelma & Louise, but with an erotic as well as a sexual component. The depth of their relationship is magnified by tight camera work, used to great effect throughout the film. Don Davis’ musical score is orchestrally theatrical and enhances much of the suspense, while the use of Tom Jones’ hit, She’s a Lady, at the end of the film, swings a new connotation to the lyric.

Review by Andrew L. Urban:
Hip. Wise. Edgy. Like a stiletto blade, this film cuts through the thriller genre to expose its black innards and flip them on the groovy train. You don’t get a chance to slump back in the seat that you’ve paid for - you use only the edge. It is everything Louise says; and it’s even tougher than Tarantino’s work, but with as much humour as the Cohens and Tarantino combined. It’s girl tough. The girls are lovers. But it’s bound to get a few vocal reactions with some of the sentiments about lesbians. At our preview screening, it seemed like an interactive movie. It’s dangerous. See it - and have something to talk about."