Bound Movie Review

This sizzling neo-noir was just as much fun for me to watch as many classic entries of the 1940s and the ‘50s. Jennifer Tilly is femme fatale Violet stuck with a schmuck named Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). When a butch ex-convict named Corky (Gina Gershon) enters her life, it's love and lust at first sight. Many bodies later, the Wachowski Brothers use all the best ingredients to bring their film to a satisfying conclusion. As Violet, Tilly has the half-finished look of the women in the Superman cartoons made by the Fleischer Bros. in the early 1940s, while Gershon's Corky evokes countless noir heroes who've almost given up on life until they meet the right woman and come up with the perfect heist plan that no one else can understand, much less carry out. That's all there is to the narrative structure, but it's well acted and well scripted with some fresh twists in the imagery department.

1996 (R) 107m/C Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly, Joe Pantoliano, John P. Ryan, Barry Kivel, Christopher Meloni, Peter Spellos, Richard Sarafian, Mary Mara, Susie Bright, Ivan Kane, Kevin M. Richardson, Gene Borkan; D: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski; W: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski; C: Bill Pope; M: Don Davis. Nominations: Independent Spirit Awards ‘97: Best Cinematography; MTV Movie Awards ‘97: Best Kiss (Jennifer Tilly/Gina Gershon). VHS, LV, Closed Caption, DVD