Bound (1996)

Corky, a tough female ex con and her lover Violet concoct a scheme to steal millions of stashed mob money and pin the blame on Violet's crooked boyfriend Caeser.

Directors:

Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Writers:

Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Stars:

Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano

6 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jennifer Tilly	...	Violet
Gina Gershon	...	Corky
Joe Pantoliano	...	Caesar
John P. Ryan	...	Micky Malnato (as John Ryan)
Christopher Meloni	...	Johnnie Marzzone
Richard C. Sarafian	...	Gino Marzzone
Mary Mara	...	Sue, Bartender
Susie Bright	...	Jesse
Margaret Smith	...	Woman Cop
Barry Kivel	...	Shelly
Peter Spellos	...	Lou
Ivan Kane	...	Cop #1
Kevin Michael Richardson	...	Cop #2 (as Kevin M. Richardson)
Gene Borkan	...	Roy

Storyline

Corky, a lesbian ex con hired to work in an apartment as a plumber, meets neighbors Caesar, who launders money for the Mafia, and his girlfriend Violet. The two women have a love affair and decide to steal $2,000,000 that Caesar has in custody before he gives them back to Mafia boss Gino Marzone. Caesar is set up by the two scheming women as a scapegoat but things start to go wrong when he reacts in an unexpected way...

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Plot Keywords:

money | mafia | lesbian | plumber | gangster | 

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Taglines:

Sex and crime forever.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Business

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$900,902 (USA) (4 October 1996)

Gross:

$3,798,532 (USA) (20 December 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Spelling Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 109 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Susie Bright:  The noted sex author appears as the lesbian in the bar that Corky hits on before the lesbian cop arrives. The grey-haired woman in the next booth is Bright's ex.

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Goofs

When Corky is fixing the sink, Violet's legs are visible, and they change from black hose to no (or nude) hose then back between shots.

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Quotes

[Caesar is aiming his gun at Corky, who is tied up - 'bound' as the title has it]
Caesar: God. I should have seen this coming the minute I met you. Everybody knows your kind can't be trusted. Fucking queers make me sick. But you made a fatal mistake. You tried fucking the wrong guy. And I swear to you that I'm going to kill you for it. Where's my money?
Violet: Don't tell him.
Caesar: Shut up, Violet!
Violet: He can't kill you.
Caesar: [He aims the gun at Violet] Violet!
Violet: Not until he has the money.
[...]

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Despicable Me/The Kids Are All Right (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Hopeless Faith"
Performed by The Hail Marys
Courtesy of Panic Stricken Records

User Reviews

Stunning directorial debut by Wachowskis

Bound is a film for which I have mixed feelings: it looks and feels amazing, the cinematography, acting, directing, costumes, wardrobe, props, colors, moods, etc. feel like a graphic novel brought to life. Yet on the other hand there is something that smacks of "aren't we cool for doing x?" - I guess the lesbian scenes and camera work were what did this so as to give it a punk/hip feel (then again, this is not long after Pulp Fiction came out so everyone was doing it).

Having seen the Matrix 1-3 I can understand and appreciate the camera work on second viewing, but it feels like the Wachowski brothers were pushing the lesbian eroticism for the sake of shock and males in the audience. It definitely seems to be directed by males insofar as the sex scenes go (the female body is both fetishist and problematized as a threat to men throughout the film too, but that's a different subject altogether), but these are more artsy than "Skinemax" night flicks in that there is very little nudity, it was tastefully shown for the most part and a lot was told with sounds and shadows. (Personally, I think the lesbians were there for shock since a male lover would have worked just as well, but in general I think some more subtlety could have been used in the sex scenes myself since imagining it is sexier IMHO).

That said, the first half, which establishes character, does seem to drag quite a bit, but once the caper gets going it never stops. You also feel for all of the characters - surprisingly, I felt the most for Cesar, the "villain" of the piece (perhaps because of an amazing shot when he opens the briefcase and then the world seems out of whack as we look up at him).

I can't really find anything "wrong" with this film per se and it is a good film although I could have easily fast forwarded the first half and got roughly the same effect. Still I could watch this film over and over again for the way it was shot since it is amazing and there are a lot of techniques and style one can learn from it, plus the story is great too. So for this I give the film

8 out of 10 stars. Definitely worth a watch, although some of you more conservative folks might be a little put off by the lesbian scenes.