Review of Bound (1996) by Sma A — 02 Jul 2012

This is a really great, mostly overlooked neo-noir. It was the first film by the Wachowski brothers, who went on to make The Matrix, and in its way it's almost as impressive a debut for them as Reservoir Dogs was for Tarantino or Blood Simple was for the Coen brothers. It's engaging, intense, suspenseful, and stylish. In fact, though you wouldn't expect it, you can already see elements of the style they would employ in The Matrix present here. I enjoyed it immensely.

The story uses the elements of most good noir films: money, greed, lust, murder, gangsters, and a femme fatale. Those ever-reliable elements are given a lesbian twist here. A tough, ex-con lesbian (Gina Gershon) is entranced by a gangster's moll (Jennifer Tilly). The gangster (Joe Pantoliano) is responsible for taking care of $2 million in cash for the mafia. What could go wrong?

The acting is aimed just a bit over the top, which is perfect for the tone of the movie: the characters are more archetypes than fully developed people, but they're each drawn so sharply and memorably that it works just fine. Jennifer Tilly has maybe the best role I've ever seen her in as Violet, the seductive moll - it's amazing she can seduce anybody with that voice of hers. Gina Gershon is good as the seduced thief, though she's mostly relegated to just standing around during the second half of the film. Joe Pantoliano is funny and effective as the increasingly desperate gangster, who's being pushed into a corner for reasons he doesn't understand.

Though obviously this movie's budget was much smaller than that of The Matrix, the Wachowskis still found numerous ways to make the film visually interesting. With Don Davis's musical score (which in parts sounds very similar to his score for The Matrix), the Wachowskis' style is clearly already well on its way to fruition in this film. They obviously didn't have many special effects in this one, but they pull off some interesting techniques with the camera here. I guess my only quibble with the film is that I didn't find the very ending to be especially satisfying. Still, though, the movie is extremely compelling and fun to watch throughout. Now that I've seen the Wachowskis' entire filmography, I can't wait for their adaptation of Cloud Atlas to come out.