30 Years Ago Today: Jennifer Tilly And Gina Gershon Starred In A Cult Classic Neo-noir Thriller

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The Wachowskis' neo-noir film "Bound" was released 30 years ago today, on October 4, 1996, and the film didn't initially cause much of a stir. At first glance, it appeared to be yet another gritty, modern crime flick that rose in the wake of the popularity of "Pulp Fiction" (wherein pride comes before the fall). The late 1990s were lousy with stylish "scuzz cinema," all boasting a harder edge, bloodier violence, and a more flippant attitude than previous generations. "Bound" could have been just another one to slot in between "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" and "Goodbye Lover." The film's box office certainly bears that out, as it only made $7 million on its modest $6 million budget. It wasn't yet a zeitgeist rattler. 

Some critics immediately took notice, however. Roger Ebert gave "Bound" four stars (out of four), writing that the film "is shocking and violent, and will offend some audiences. It's that kind of movie. But it's skillful filmmaking, setting a puzzle that involves time, space, money, and danger, and seeing how many different ways it can be solved." Ebert also admired the film's open queerness, saying that the film's lead actresses, Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon, "play the sex for delight instead of for solemn earth-shaking gynecological drudgery." (He could certainly turn a phrase, that Ebert.) 

When "Bound" found its way to home video, its audience began to grow. Many began to see the film's daring sex and pitch-perfect filmmaking as worthy of open celebration, and it wasn't long before the film was being held up as a modern classic. Its estimation certainly grew in 1999 when the Wachowskis released their sci-fi ultra-blockbuster "The Matrix." When "The Matrix" exploded, curious cineastes looked back to the Wachowskis' previous movie, and a new world was unlocked. 

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"Bound" was released before Lana and Lilly Wachowski had transitioned, and many can see the film as a hint of their eventually announced gender identities. It's certainly a grand celebration of lesbian passion, as Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon's romance smolders. Tilly plays Violet, the seemingly ditzy girlfriend of a low-rent gangster named Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). The two of them are moving into a Chicago apartment where the gloriously butch Corky (Gershon) is doing renovations next door. Violet and Corky lock eyes, and we see immediately their mutual attraction. 

Violet then invites Corky over to her place to take care of a plumbing problem (wink wink), and naturally, Violet pretty aggressively seduces her. The entire first act of the film is devoted to the growing sexual chemistry between the stars. It would be fair to assume, at this point in the movie, that it would be about two women trying to find sex and romance in the modern world — a queer rom-com for the modern age. 

But "Bound" is a dark and gritty crime movie at its heart, and the plot kicks in soon thereafter. Violet overhears that Caesar is involved in beating a confession out of an embezzler. Violet hates being involved with scumbags like him, and dreams of running off with Corky. They just need a huge store of cash to start their new lives. Luckily, Caesar will be returning to the Chicago apartment with $2 million he has retrieved from the aforementioned embezzler, giving Violet and Corky an opportunity to steal it. As with all heist dramas, though, there are complications. (Example: What do they do when Caesar returns with money ... but it has blood all over it?)

"Bound" introduced filmgoeers to the Wachowskis with style.

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"Bound" grew into a new-queer classic over the years, and 30 years later, it's still cited as a flashpoint for queer representation. The GLAAD website features a Q&A with Lilly Wachowski wherein she talks about the film's subtle symbolism; the very first shot in the movie is of a closet, and Lilly commented that "the closet is the most obvious signpost to me right off the bat. The idea of wanting out is right there. You're not even thirty seconds into the film, and that's one of the key lines." She said that she and her sister perhaps unwittingly inserted "all of our internalized queerness that we were not letting out." The fact that the Wachowskis both eventually transitioned gives "Bound" a lot of new confessional subtext. 

Over the years, "Bound" has been relitigated periodically, and it only seems to get better with age. The film was released on Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection, and new generations are constantly discovering it. In the slasher film "Seed of Chucky," wherein Jennifer Tilly played both herself and a killer living doll named Tiffany, she makes open jokes about her sex scenes with Gina Gershon in "Bound." The film is certainly a cultural touchstone. It has been astonishing to witness it grow from "just another '90s indie crime flick" into a widely beloved neo-noir. 

As mentioned, the Wachowskis went on to make "The Matrix," which was so striking and popular, it rewrote blockbusters for many years thereafter. The film was so popular, the Wachowskis were swallowed up by it for several years. They wouldn't direct another film outside of that franchise until 2008's "Speed Racer," the best Hollywood anime adaptation.