It is hard to accept the fact that I haven't ever heard of this great Neo-Noir, written and directed by the acclaimed Wachowski Brothers (Lana&Lilly) in the early stages of their career which reached its peak with ''The Matrix'' (1999). ''Bound'' is an absorbing crime/mystery with dashes of Hitchcockian suspense, having a solid plotline and great cast such as Joe Pantoliano and Jennifer Tilly who both deliver tremendous performances in their roles of a husband and wife, the former being a made mafioso and the latter a typical 'Damsel in Distress' who searches for a safe exit from the Mob's violent characters and proceedings, while becoming infatuated with her new neighbor (Gina Gershon's character). Tilly's character, acted with a mischievous- almost manipulative- sexiness and cynical determination, hatches a plan to rob her husband of mob money, with the guidance and support from her new lover. But, as always, reality doesn't follow the plan and things spiral out of control with a high body count and Caesar (J. Pantoliano's character) on the verge of a complete breakdown as he finds himself owing to his own mob family a sum of 2.000.000 dollars. The main theme of ''Bound'' is trust between humans and the risks that people are taking, based on the trust to a closely related person. The movie, apart from its references to classic Film-Noir, brought to my mind the early Joel&Ethan Coen pictures and plotwise it will somehow remind you of the superb ''Shallow Grave'' by Danny Boyle. This is a little-known gem that is certainly worth spending the approximately 100 minutes of your precious time and it will leave you wondering why it is so hard to find similar productions in the contemporary era.

BOUND is a Tarantino-style thriller that comes to us courtesy of the Wachowski siblings. These are the two brothers (who have now transitioned to sisters) who wowed audiences with THE MATRIX but have been disappointing ever since. I quite liked this as an early step in their career, although it is quite forgettable and quite clearly a B-movie.

I did get a chuckle when I read that Bogart and Eastwood were acting inspirations for the main characters, played by a game Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly. Both are acceptable as the couple embarking on a torrid lesbian affair and getting involved with some violent gangsters, but to link this to classic, golden age cinema in any way, shape, or form is a joke. Gershon has done better work elsewhere while Tilly is too much of a mouth breather (similar to Renee Zellweger) to take seriously.

Instead, as I said, the influence is clearly Tarantino, so expect lots of shouty moments, quick fire dialogue, and expletives. I thought the use of the single location (a grubby apartment) was handled very well, and there are some nice twists and turns as the story progresses. Joe Pantoliano (MEMENTO) gives probably the best performance as the out-of-his-head boyfriend, and it's nice to see John P. Ryan (IT'S ALIVE) on screen again, although he looks very old and isn't in it much; this was his last acting role.

Corky (Gina Gershon) is a lesbian ex-con who is working as a handywoman in an apartment building owned by criminals. Violet (Jennifer Tilly) and Caesar (Joe Pantoliano) are the couple living next door to the room she's working on. Violet seduces Corky. Violet wants to run off and suggests stealing $2 million from Caesar who is laundering money for the mob.

This has fabulous noir style. It is darkly beautiful. The Wachowskis show early on their amazing visual style. This is also very sexy due to the pairing of Gershon and Tilly. They are not only beautiful but they also have these magnetic personalities. They fit their roles so well. The Wachowskis add brutal violence to this heady mix for their impressive directorial debut.