Bound is a sexy, stylish and suspenseful modern visitation to the film noir genre that emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. Right from the outset - where the letters of the film's name cast deep dark shadows like high-rise buildings - the viewer is inducted into a world where duplicity is the norm and where choices made
result in prices being paid. And with over $2 million of Mob money at stake, the risk to life and limb is very high indeed. Violet is a latter-day gangster's moll looking for a way out of 'the business'. Her chance comes when her boyfriend, Ceasar, brings home a fortune in cash to be
sorted and collated before being passed on to the Chicago Mafia. She seduces
the tough-talking ex-con who is renovating the next-door apartment (an
impressively butch Gina Gershon) and together they scheme to relieve the Mob
of the money. But when Ceasar doesn't react according to plan, suddenly there are dead bodies to deal with and events begin to spiral out of control. The
women's trust in each other is stretched to breaking point as they are drawn into a deadly battle of wits. Directors Larry and Andy Wachowski make judicious use of the conventions of
film noir, such as extensive chiaroscuro, and some imaginative and
uncomfortable extreme close-up shots. The clever cinematography is backed up
by a tension-laden script and an excellent cast (particularly Joe Pantoliano as the increasingly frenzied Ceasar). Although Bound may take some viewers out
of their comfort zone with its graphic lesbian sex scene (which I LOVE!) and
depiction of Mob torture tactics, it is a film that will reward its audience with a stylish and intelligent foray into the eternally murky confluence of good and evil.
