In the ongoing series of writers celebrating their most rewatched comfort films, one writer picks the 1996 romantic thriller Bound as a feelgood movie that reveals a softer side to their viewing habits. While typically inclined towards darker, more graphic films like Knife+Heart or Crimes of the Future, the writer finds themselves frequently returning to Bound for its gushy feelings and butterflies reminiscent of a school crush.
The Plot and Chemistry
The directorial debut from the Wachowski sisters, Bound revolves around an opposites-attract scenario. Plumber Corky (Gina Gershon) and mafia moll Violet (Jennifer Tilly) meet in an elevator, and the tiny vestibule becomes thick with sexual tension. The palpable chemistry between the two leads drives the film, with Corky's slick masculinity embodied by Gershon and Violet's ultimate sex pot prowess delivered by Tilly. The film is shot in the conventions of the sapphic gaze, featuring closeups of Corky's hands wrestling with pipes and unscrewing things in languorous detail.
Lesbian Eroticism
Despite starring two ostensibly cis, straight female leads, Bound is a masterclass in lesbian eroticism. The actors seamlessly embody a masc/femme dynamic without the try-hard didacticism of later cinematic attempts, creating a relationship that feels oddly real but much hotter. Gershon's dramatic gender transformation from her role as Cristal Connors in Showgirls to butch pin-up Corky is uncanny, and Tilly delivers a complex female protagonist who smolders and manipulates to get what she wants from men, exploring the double life of a straight-passing lesbian.
Relatable Dynamics
The plot sees Corky, just out of prison, vulnerable to Violet's high-femme charms. In a turn driven by unbridled lust, Corky agrees to help Violet steal $2 million from the mob and pin it on her boyfriend. While the crime plot is inconsequential to the writer, the film draws an equivalence between Corky's prison time and Violet's years as a clandestine lesbian in straight relationships for financial survival. At the end, both are free: Corky from the criminal justice system, and Violet from the confines of cis-heterosexual society.
Impact and Legacy
Released about 30 years ago, Bound remains the most convincing depiction of dyke sexual dynamics on screen. The Wachowski sisters, both trans lesbians, were cinematically brave in depicting the cheek, mischief, and pleasure of sapphic relationships. The writer notes that, despite having access to a plethora of queer representation today, this film made by two trans women in the 90s provided cinematic proof of their own sexuality.
Bound is available on Kanopy or to rent digitally in the US, UK, and Australia.
