---
title: "Bound: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/bound/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/bound"
critics_score: 65
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Bound (1996): what the critics said

Critics' score 65 from 7 reviews: 5 positive, 0 mixed, 2 negative.

Most critics respond warmly to Bound, with five of the seven reviews praising its stylish crime plotting, dark humour and performances. Praise centres on Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly, whose chemistry gives the familiar noir setup a distinctive charge, while the inventive camerawork and economical direction draw admiration. The favourable reviews find wit and suspense in the caper’s mechanics, treating the film’s debts to earlier thrillers as compatible with lively entertainment.

The spread is wide, with two strongly negative reviews challenging precisely what the others enjoy. Variety finds the plotting increasingly contrived, the style excessive and the characters neither believable nor sympathetic. Time Out goes further, dismissing the central lesbian relationship as a calculated gimmick in a neo-noir with no ideas of its own. The main divide is over whether the familiar crime setup provides room for playful invention or merely supports an exercise in borrowed style.

## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 1996. 

The film is skillful and virtuosic filmmaking from first-timers, a caper-gangster-sex-slapstick hybrid that works the audience up and leaves them gasping. The critic singles out the brilliant, clockwork caper sequence and the electric chemistry between Gershon and Tilly for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bound-1996)

## Empire — Kim Newman

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

The film follows a classic film noir plot but stands out by casting Gina Gershon in the tough lead role opposite Jennifer Tilly's femme fatale, with the two women plotting against her mobster boyfriend. It succeeds as a stylish, ironic retro thriller that highlights the Wachowskis' promise.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/bound-review/)

## The New York Times — Janet Maslin

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 1996. 

Bound comes as a smartly stylish surprise in the genre, directed with hard-boiled cunning reminiscent of the early Coen brothers while adding a lesbian twist to the crime story. The critic praises the sleek looks, wily genre wit, and the strong performances by Gershon and Tilly.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/04/movies/girl-meets-girl-dumps-boy.html)

## Total Film

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 28 February 1997. 

Bound is a snappy black comedy-thriller in the vein of the Coen brothers or Tarantino, distinguished by its central lesbian relationship and inventive camerawork. Gina Gershon shines as the ex-con Corky in a sexy, twisty plot full of cool visuals and strong performances.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/bound-review/)

## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 1996. 

Bound is a zesty, gratifying little picture that is derivative but such an amusing low-down entertainment it doesn’t matter, full of one surprise after another and dark humor. The critic singles out the inventive plot developments, the performances (especially Pantoliano and Tilly), and economical direction for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-10-04-ca-50166-story.html)

## Variety — Todd McCarthy

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 25 January 1996. Festival review. 

Bound is a notably unpalatable and calculated crime piece where the lesbians-vs.-the-mob hook serves as a thin disguise for just another designer thriller that becomes ludicrously contrived. The critic complains of stylistic overkill, lack of humor or depth, and fundamentally unbelievable, unsympathetic characters.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/bound-1200444341/)

## Time Out — NB

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 9 January 2015. 

The critic dismisses the film as one of the most calculated and artistically bankrupt Hollywood calling-cards in years, a by-the-numbers neo-noir relying solely on the gimmick of lesbian desire with no ideas of its own and cynically marketed to multiple audiences.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/bound)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/bound.md