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Bound — Vintage Movie Tee
Released in 1996, Bound is one of the great neo-noirs of the ’90s: sex, money, mobsters, double-crosses, and two women who are much smarter than the men around them.
Directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski in their feature debut, the film stars Gina Gershon as Corky, an ex-con working on an apartment renovation, and Jennifer Tilly as Violet, the glamorous girlfriend of mobster Caesar, played by Joe Pantoliano. Their attraction turns into an affair, then into a plan to steal millions of dollars from the Mafia.
What makes Bound so good is that it understands exactly what kind of movie it is. It has the shadows, betrayals, dangerous lovers, and elaborate schemes of classic film noir, but places a lesbian relationship at the center without treating it as a joke or a tragic detour.
That was a big deal in 1996.
Corky and Violet are sexual, complicated, flawed, and genuinely in love. Their queerness is essential to the story, but it is not the problem the movie is trying to solve. At a time when lesbian characters in mainstream film were still often punished, fetishized, or pushed to the margins, Bound let two women be the heroes of their own stylish crime thriller.
