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 Caesar.

Directors:

Lana Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers), Lilly Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers)

Writers:

Lilly Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers), Lana Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers)

Stars:

Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano

8 wins & 13 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:

lesbian | stolen money | ex convict | mafia | gangster | 

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Taglines:

Violet and Corky are making laundry day a very big deal.

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Genres:

Crime | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

4 October 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bound

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$900,902, 6 October 1996, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,798,532, 22 December 1996

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company,Spelling Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joel Silver has said that after working as scriptwriters on Assassins (1995), the Wachowskis made Bound as an "audition piece" to prove that they knew what to do on a movie set. Conversely, Lana Wachowski has said Joel "made that up." The Wachowskis themselves claim they "decided simply to focus on making their own directorial debut." They had the idea to write a story about how one might see a woman on the street and make assumptions about her sexuality, but how those assumptions might be wrong. They wanted to play with stereotypes and make an entertaining film that contained sex and violence, because those are the kinds of films that they like to watch. Seeing film noir as a genre within which they could tell a contained story and twist conventions, they described Billy Wilder as a big influence.

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Goofs

When Corky drinks coffee there is one tattooed triangle on her right hand. When she is opening the case there is two. When she dumps the money in the paint there is one again.

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Quotes

Violet: They're just cops.

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Connections

Featured in Hail Ceasar with Joe Pantoliano (2014)

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Soundtracks

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'
Written by Lee Hazlewood
Sung by Christopher Meloni

User Reviews

Gosh, what a surprise

Let's get one thing straight at the start - the Brits aren't very good at sex. Obviously we're good enough to procreate and what have you, but when it comes to movies, we don't have a clue. What's more, we still have a strong streak of the Victorian puritan ethic running through us. This accounts for the fact that, in the period running up to Bound's cinema release, certain British newspapers hyped up the explicit lesbian content with a kind of outraged glee.

And, of course, when someone says "Disgusting - it ought to be banned!" then you want to see it all the more, don't you? So there I am, looking forward to a little girl on girl action (and it's there alright, filmed in tasteful arty stark contrast), and what do I get? A bloody good crime thriller, that's what.

There are many comments here, so I'll just say two things.

One, this is not the outrageous lesbian free-for-all which it was made out to be by certain elements of the British press. The relationship between the two women is absolutely essential to the credibility of what follows.

And, two, this is a film which you watch for the first time in a state of almost unbearable stress. I do not recall ever seeing another film in which extreme tension is maintained so well for such a sustained period.