BOUND

The Wachowski's debut film is a melting pot of styles that you can't keep your eyes off.

Rating: 77/100

Original Release: 1996

Director: The Wachowskis

Cast: Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly, Joe Pantoliano

Favourite Quote:

Caesar: “What did she do to you?”

Violet: “Everything you couldn’t”

Favourite Shot:

The Wachowskis first film ‘Bound’ reminded me of so many different films. Mafia/gangster movies like Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction. Heist movies like Ocean’s Eleven. It had anxiety inducing suspense like a Hitchcock film. And it also even had some Lynchian vibes to it. The film is a melting pot of all of these different genres and styles that the Wachoswkis wanted to mix together. But it is what the Wachowskis choose not to take from them that make the film stand on its own.

The first time we see our two protagonists Corky (Gina Gershon) and Violet (Jennifer Tilly) is when they first meet in an elevator. They don’t speak to each other or act on anything they are thinking. But it is clear that these two have some sort of connection immediately. It is crucial that the audience believes and understands their quick connection otherwise the rest of the film doesn’t work. And the writing, directing and wonderful performances from the two leads successfully do this. An example of this is the brilliant first sex scene. We enter the scene by panning from the two kissing in the car up to the apartment upstairs where they are having sex. The camera slowly enters the scene and loops around the two bodies focusing on Corky. It is deliberate that Corky is focused upon as she has been introduced as the more introverted and less trusting character (whereas Violet seems to be much more open with her thoughts and feelings). This is the first time the audience gets to see Corky’s vulnerable side and we understand how hard it is to draw that side out of her. It is clear that their relationship isn’t just a casual fling, it is something much more important to the both of them.

We are then introduced to the mafia side of the film through Violet’s husband Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). He and his mob associates disturbingly begin beating and torturing a man in Violet’s bathroom as Corky listens in next door. The Wachowskis focus on this element throughout the film. The fact that there is only a thin wall separating Corky and Violet. And even if the two aren’t physically together they can hear exactly what is going on with the other. Finally fed up with her husband and his work, Violet and Corky cook up a plan to steal $2 million dollars from Caesar. Here is where we get the Ocean’s Eleven type heist plan where the plan is explained intercut with the plan actually being put into action. The plan is quite simple, but is built on people reacting a certain way to the situation that is given to them. And that is ultimately Violet and Corky’s downfall. Caesar begins to act unpredictably and the plan is thrown out the window. At this point the film begins to become anxiety inducing. And this is a credit to the unstable character of Caesar and the outstanding performance from Pantoliano.

"The movie combines all of these elements to move the film along and to put so much into your head as you watch that you can’t help but be glued to the screen. "

A highlight scene is when the mob boss, Gino (Richard C. Sarafin), comes over to get the $2 million dollars. Violet has managed to convince Caesar that his partner Johnnie (Christopher Melonie), also the mob boss’ son, was the one that stole the money. And in the scene Caesar confronts him in front of his father. It ends with Caesar murdering Johnnie and then Gino in a hauntingly shot sequence in which the mob boss slowly falls back towards the blood red carpet. It’s interesting to realise that Caesar fails here because he doesn’t trust his partner. Whereas Violet and Corky’s whole plan is built on trust. The suspense is only heightened from there. First the police show up and come within an inch of figuring out what has happened. And then more mob members show up and just as you think all hell is about to break loose, it doesn’t.

In the end Caesar finally figures out what is happening. Violet shoots him, they tell the mob that he ran away with the money, and then they run away with the money. Happy ending. The mob never suspect Violet and Corky because of course they’re two women and they could never be outsmarted by two women. The way this film executes this plot so well is through its use of these familiar genres and styles. In a heist film you are always waiting for that final reveal at the end of the movie in which you learn that someone double crossed someone else. You keep waiting for either Violet or Corky to leave the other and run away themselves with the money. But it never happens.

In a David Lynch film you would expect some strange and surreal images to come in and disrupt the flow of the plot. Maybe Violet and Corky are the same person. One mysteriously disappears. Something like that. And you can’t help trying to figure out how they are going to bring that element in, but they never do. With a Hitchcock film or a Tarantino film you know that in the final showdown the main characters are probably going to die. And I was convinced this was how Bound was going to end. But instead we get a happy ending. The character’s mutual trust in each other is rewarded. Trust triumphs over distrust. The movie combines all of these elements to move the film along and to put so much into your head as you watch that you can’t help but be glued to the screen.

The Wachowskis first film is unlike any other they have made since and it is one that showed their potential from the beginning. The direction and writing is tight. The camera work is creative. And the performances are outstanding. Some call it a rehearsal for The Matrix but I truly believe this film is a great piece of work in its own right and I would be first in line if the Wachowskis were ever to make a film like this again.

See my interview with freelance writer James Douglas about Bound here.