Bound
While watching Bound, I started to notice many similarities between this movie and the best movie of last year, Fargo. In fact, they were so similar I almost thought it was a copy of it. I guess I shouldn't compare the two, but both are so good that I couldn't help it. Both Bound and Fargo are about criminal acts gone wrong (Fargo's act going more wrong than Bound's), but they both also intertwine humor, sex, and gore too. Fargo is the better of the two, but that's only because everything in that movie was perfect. Bound is terrific and truly one of the best movies of last year.
Bound opens with Corky (Gina Gershon, from Showgirls) getting onto an elevator with two other people, Ceaser (Joe Pantoliano) and Violet (Jennifer Tilly). Corky and Violet look at each other and you can see that they like each other already. Corky is an ex-con who was just released from prison. She is at the apartment complex to fix up a room for her employer, which just happens to be the room next to Violet and Ceasar's. While painting and doing the plumbing, she listens to Violet and Ceasar next door.
It just so happens that Ceasar is a mobster, and during one moment in the movie, he and his "friends" beat up a guy because he stole two million dollars from them. His face is smashed against a toilet, and then he is pinned against the floor as one guy offers him a deal. He has ten chances to tell him where the money is, ten being the number of fingers he has. You can pretty much tell where this is going, but it doesn't show too much. Amongst all this going on, Violet and Corky fall in love, and in one terrific scene, Corky is seduced by Violet. The scene is very well written, and uses one a long forgotten cliche. I can't remember the last time a movie has had someone "accidentally" drop something down the drain so that they could call the person they liked to have them come over and get it out.
The entire movie proceeds like this: Violet and Corky have a secret love affair while Ceasar gets ready to give the money to the head of the mob. However, there is one problem with Ceasar's plan, and that is he doesn't know that Corky and Violet are planning on stealing the money. The directors, the Wachowski Brothers, have done an amazing job with this movie. I couldn't believe how well this was done. The movie goes from the sexual escapades of the two women, to almost a slapstick comedy, and then to a very suspenseful ending. There is a perfect blend of all of these elements in Bound, which is why this is one of the best films of the year. It's the same reason why Fargo was the best movie.
The only problem with Bound is that it drags slightly in a couple of scenes. But it isn't very noticeable because they are so well directed. But it's not just the directing that make this movie memorable. Jennifer Tilly is probably the best one in the movie. Her performance is terrific, pretending to be a semi-ditzy woman, but proving to be just as smart as anyone else, and even smarter. Gina Gershon proves that she can actually act, despite Showgirls. Both of them together make a terrific team. Joe Pantoliano is very good as the mobster who goes through many stages of thinking and emotions. Everyone is good in this movie.
Bound is rated R for strong sexual content, violence, gore, and language. The sex doesn't last too long. It's about twenty minutes into the movie and then it turns into a crime movie. The movie is a perfect blend of each. The sex scene is pretty graphic for being what it is, but it's kept pretty short. The violence is mostly during the second half of the movie when the act of theft is being taken place. But the ending is very tense and unpredictable. I had no idea what to expect. That's what makes a movie good.