Bound (1996)

reviewed by
Chad Polenz


Bound Chad'z rating: *** (out of 4 = good) 1996, R, 108 minutes [1 hour, 48 minutes] [crime] starring: Jennifer Tilly (Violet), Joe Pantoliano (Caeser), Gina Gershon (Corky), John P. Ryan (Mickey), produced by Stuart Boros, Andrew Lazar, written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski.

I think all crime movies have one thing in common: things never go according to plan. Some crime films use this to create for satire, others use it to enhance the drama and suspense, but "Bound" is different because it does both at the same time without contradicting itself.

The film starts off with a real "crime movie" atmosphere - the type that could only be created by lovers of the pulp books and cult favorites of the genre. The setting is present day Chicago where we meet Corky (Gershon), a lesbian ex-con who is fixing up an empty upscale apartment. When she meets the next door neighbor Violet (Tilly) there is a clear, but unspoken attraction between them. It's the kind you'd see in porno movies, so I'm not sure if it really fits for such a mainstream film and its audience. We get about 20 minutes of relatively plausible character development and flirting between Corky and Violet, plus some very erotic sex scenes (at least to a heterosexual male), but after a while it seems a bit gratuitous.

Violet's live-in partner, Caeser (Pantoliano), is your standard "Family Man," especially the way Pantoliano depicts him - Brooklyn accent, curse words galore, violent mood swings, etc. Caeser has just recovered $2 million in cash that belongs to "The Business." But Violet doesn't like Caeser much, so she and Corky hatch a plan to steal the money, frame Caeser, and screw over the entire mob in the process.

It's difficult to describe the scheme the women concoct without describing it in full detail or giving away the entire film. It's not a complicated plan really, just a clever one and it's interesting to watch how the events unfold because just when you think everything is going to work out, something unexpected happens and the characters must think quickly. There are scenes of razor-sharp suspense, the kind you wouldn't expect in a film like this.

The actual events themselves are portrayed just as seriously as Scorsese's "GoodFellas," with lots of detail. But the offbeat dialogue and the specific elements that move the plot make for a wholly original, yet satirical atmosphere not unlike Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." For example, the money Violet and Corky try to steal from Caeser was originally covered in blood due to something that could only happen in a crime movie like this. Nevertheless, Caeser proceeds to wash, dry, and iron every single $100 bill as if they were his favorite pair of pants.

There isn't much else to say about "Bound." It's just another crime film at the core, but it's told in an original, interesting manner and there's nothing wrong with that.

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e-mail: ChadPolenz@aol.com
(C) 1997 Chad Polenz

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