Get Your Reps In: The Wachowskis Were “Bound” for Greatness Since Their Debut Feature

What to see at Portland’s repertory theaters.

Violet (Jennifer Tilly) finds herself in a sticky situation. (IMDB)
By Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Bound (1996)

Before The Matrix, there was Bound—both in the Wachowskis’ filmography and at the Tomorrow Theater this weekend.

Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s 1996 debut runs in a double feature with The Matrix (1999) as part of the theater’s Portland Pride celebrations.

One of the most assured first films you’ll ever see, Bound rearranges and pressurizes ‘50s noir tropes into a sexy, cathartic queer thriller.

Corky (Gina Gershon) is an apartment handywoman seduced by Violet (Jennifer Tilley), the mobster girlfriend next door. Soon, they hatch a plan to prey on the paranoia of Violet’s thug boyfriend (Joe Pantoliano) and swipe a suitcase of cash.

It’s a knotty powder keg of a movie, and there’s a resourceful pleasure in watching two filmmakers who are about to revolutionize action cinema soar on the special effects of one apartment building, two buckets of white paint, and a few daring camera angles to announce their talents to the world.

Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division St., 503-221-1156, tomorrowtheater.org. 4 pm, followed by The Matrix at 7 pm, Sunday, July 21. $15.

Also Playing:

Academy: Django (1966), July 19, 20, 24 and 25. Grease (1978), July 19-25. Cinemagic: Phantom of the Paradise (1974), July 19 and 24. Rent (2005), July 20-22. Rubin & Ed (1991), July 21 and 23. Antichrist (2009), July 21 and 25. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), July 19, 23, 24 and 25. They Live! (1988), July 20. The Thing (1982), July 20. Clinton: Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel (1979), July 17. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), July 18. Ex Machina (2015), July 19. Repo Man (1984), July 20. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), July 20. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), July 21. Hollywood: Dredd (2012), July 18. Gilda (1946), July 19. The Window (1949), July 20. Never Open That Door (1952), July 20. Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948), July 20. The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950), July 21. In a Lonely Place (1950), July 21. RRR (2022), July 22. Tomorrow: Skaterdater (1965), July 18. Rouli Roulant (1966), July 18. D.E.B.S. (2004), July 19. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), July 20. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), July 20.

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