It is hard to accept the fact that I haven't ever heard of this great Neo-Noir, written and directed by the acclaimed Wachowski Brothers (Lana&Lilly) in the early stages of their career which reached its peak with ''The Matrix'' (1999). ''Bound'' is an absorbing crime/mystery with dashes of Hitchcockian suspense, having a solid plotline and great cast such as Joe Pantoliano and Jennifer Tilly who both deliver tremendous performances in their roles of a husband and wife, the former being a made mafioso and the latter a typical 'Damsel in Distress' who searches for a safe exit from the Mob's violent characters and proceedings, while becoming infatuated with her new neighbor (Gina Gershon's character). Tilly's character, acted with a mischievous- almost manipulative- sexiness and cynical determination, hatches a plan to rob her husband of mob money, with the guidance and support from her new lover. But, as always, reality doesn't follow the plan and things spiral out of control with a high body count and Caesar (J. Pantoliano's character) on the verge of a complete breakdown as he finds himself owing to his own mob family a sum of 2.000.000 dollars. The main theme of ''Bound'' is trust between humans and the risks that people are taking, based on the trust to a closely related person. The movie, apart from its references to classic Film-Noir, brought to my mind the early Joel&Ethan Coen pictures and plotwise it will somehow remind you of the superb ''Shallow Grave'' by Danny Boyle. This is a little-known gem that is certainly worth spending the approximately 100 minutes of your precious time and it will leave you wondering why it is so hard to find similar productions in the contemporary era.
Review of Bound
