ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 23, 1996 TAG: 9611260132
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 7 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
"Bound" may be made of material that's too racy and strong to attract a large mainstream audience, but viewers who can accept a pair of ruthless lesbian protagonists will discover a funny, surprising thriller.
For comparative purposes, imagine equal parts "Basic Instinct," "Reservoir Dogs" and "Blood Simple," but "Bound" is a genuine original. Toward the middle, when most crime stories are settling into familiar grooves, this one becomes completely unpredictable and maintains that level of innovation straight through to an ending that isn't quite as neat as it ought to be.
The opening image of tough ex-con Corky (Gina Gershon) bound and gagged sets the tone. Filmmakers Larry and Andy Wachowski then explain how Corky came to be in that predicament.
Hired to remodel an apartment, Corky moves in and sets to work. All the noise attracts the attention of her new next-door neighbor, Violet (Jennifer Tilly). Violet lives with Caesar (Joe Pantoliano), who launders money for the mob, but she fools around. A lot. It doesn't take her long to put a move on Corky. One thing leads to another. Eventually, Violet's active love life and Caesar's business dealings intersect at a briefcase full of blood-stained cash.
From that moment on, even the most experienced mystery fan will have a hard time figuring out what's going to happen next.
The Wachowski brothers, who co-wrote and co-directed, set virtually all of the action in the apartment building. Because the setting is so limited, they're able to get the most out of a limited budget. Production designer Eve Cauley shades the sets with blacks and grays to turn the apartments into dark mazes. The whole film looks terrific, and another part of the credit for that polish must go to director of photography Bill Pope. His credits include Sam Raimi's "Darkman," and Pope brings that same attention to sharply focused detail to this work.
The Wachowskis use his technical skills to bring a strong element of visual humor to the story. The comedy is impossible to describe without spoiling it, but the camera zips around in extreme close-ups to create suspense and laughter in the same moment.
The performances have the same tongue-in-cheek restraint, and toward the end, Don Davis' music cleverly quotes Bernard Herrmann's Hitchcock scores. In fact, everything about the film is so confident that it's difficult to believe it's the Wachowskis' debut effort. The script they wrote for the Sylvester Stallone thriller, "Assassins," had no hint of this originality.
Moviegoers looking for something that tests the limits of conventional entertainment are in for a real treat.
Bound HHH1/2
A Gramercy Pictures release playing at The Grandin Theatre. 109 min. Rated R for subject matter, strong sexual material, violence, brief nudity, language.|
Jennifer Tilly (left) and Gina Gershon are Violet and Corky in ``Bound.''
Bound *** 1/2
A Gramercy Pictures release playing at the Grandin. 109 min. Rated R for subject matter, strong sexual material, violence, brief nudity, language.
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines KEYWORDS: 3DAby CNB