Bound

"For money. For murder. For each other."

1996 1h 45m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🍅

88%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 1,157🍅88%Rotten Tomatoes●64Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 65,793

DramaThrillerCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Corky, a tough female ex-convict working on an apartment renovation in a Chicago building, meets a couple living next door, Caesar, a paranoid mobster, and Violet, his seductive girlfriend, who is immediately attracted to her.

“For money. For murder. For each other.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Gina Gershon
Corky
Jennifer Tilly
Violet
Joe Pantoliano
Caesar
John P. Ryan
Mickey Malnato
Christopher Meloni
Johnnie Marzzone
Richard C. Sarafian
Gino Marzzone
Barry Kivel
Shelly
Mary Mara
Bartender

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lilly Wachowski
Writers: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Languages: English, Italian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lilly Wachowski, shot by Bill Pope. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Don Davis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Zach Staenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly and Joe Pantoliano carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "For money. For murder. For each other.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lilly Wachowski directs. Bill Pope behind the camera. Don Davis scores. Zach Staenberg cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
230 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
4Directed by Lilly Wachowski, shot by Bill Pope. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Don Davis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Zach Staenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly and Joe Pantoliano carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "For money. For murder. For each other.".
9IMDB entry: tt0115736 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "infidelity", "money laundering", "plumber", "crime boss".
11Released under 23 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Bill Pope
Original score: Don Davis
Editing: Zach Staenberg
Production design: Eve Cauley
Makeup / hair: Richard Rodier
Sound: Dan Wallin
Stunt coordinator: Cliff Cudney
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,500,000
Box office: $7,011,317
Return: 156% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Bound (1996)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 64/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 65,793 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

8 wins & 13 nominations total

Also by

Lilly Wachowski

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-03-05
★ 9/10
Easily the best film the Wachowskis have ever done. I heartily wish that they had stayed low-key, under the radar, and made great scorching films like this one.
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-08-15
★ 6/10
A competent and well-made erotic thriller, but without great originality. This movie was a pleasant surprise. It came out in 1996, when dramatic films with a strong erotic content were still in vogue. Perhaps it is one of the last to have known some success, in fact. Understandably, the film remained very much alive in the heydays of VHS, I think it made its way to DVD, but gradually fell into oblivion where it currently rests. Is it deserved? Maybe not, but it's understandable to a certain extent: it's not an excellent film, but it will be a good bet for anyone who likes erotic thrillers. The screenplay is based on the lesbian case of two women, who become involved and decide to run away with a large fortune in mafia money, incriminating the mafia boyfriend of one of them. This is a script devoid of any kind of originality and that can only surprise for the lesbian content and the high dose of nudity, because all the violence, the profanity, the strong dialogues, the fast scenes, all of these are elements that we all expected. in a film of this type. The work of the directors is excellent and opened the doors to the “Matrix” franchise, with which they would come to consecrate themselves before falling back into obscurity from which they rarely manage to rise. They managed to insert many nuances of film noir into a strongly erotic plot, including the aesthetics and lighting of several scenes, and the sets, costumes, cinematography and soundtrack are truly good. The two leading actresses are Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly. None of them are great actresses, each of them has had their moments of brilliance in films where they have minor roles, and I don't think they will ever go beyond that. So, what they do here is interesting because they both showed commitment and gave a lot to the project. It doesn't mean they are extraordinarily talented or great actresses. The fact is that they got a good partnership on stage, they have a strong and credible chemistry, and the film builds on top of that effectively. As an actor, Joe Pantoliano is better and gives us the best interpretation of the film, and it's worth seeing the actor working with them.
r96sk2024-01-24
★ 8/10
<em>'Bound'</em> is a fun one! I've always wanted to get this watched since growing up with (the great) Jennifer Tilly via the <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/films/in/childs-play-collection/by/release-earliest/size/large/" rel="nofollow">Chucky</a>'</em> franchise and having heard this mentioned on/off down the years, so I'm glad that I have belatedly done so. It's entertaining! I knew of the love stuff and it sure does deliver, though I am surprised it only really happens at the beginning... it makes sense, I just assumed it was gonna be recurring throughout. Tilly and Gina Gershon are excellent together, very strong onscreen chemistry! Like with what I previously mentioned, I was also slightly surprised that Gershon disappears for what felt like a decent chunk of the movie; despite being literally next door. Again, works for the story but would've expected her to be there all the way. Joe Pantoliano stars behind them, ahead of a solid supporting cast. One to watch, which is interestingly The Wachowskis' directorial debut.