Review of Bound: Rejoice watching a crime-infested family spawn an unlikely heroine

Bound

Cast: Alexandra Faye Sadeghian, Brant Carroll, Jessica Pimentel, Jaye Alexander, Pooya Mohseni, Ramin Karimloo, Alok Tewari, Miguel Izaguirra, Gayle Samuels, Aixa Kendrick

Critic’s Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Director: Isaac Hirotsu Woofter

Duration: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Language: English

Release Date: 2023

What’s it about?

A young lady escapes her troubled domicile before fate leads her back to one abusive relative and another ailing one.

Review

With Bound, viewers are in for an effective crime drama which also boasts an engaging character study. This is an intense story, bordering on being a thriller, while avoiding sensational and mindless violence. Though a tad contrived at times, the characters seem relatable while emitting heavy doses of genuine human emotion. The premise - how far can one get away from a morbid past before it starts catching up with you through unexpected avenues. Also, to what extent can one control life’s circumstances and how accountable are we for our actions?

Bella Patterson (Alexandra Faye Sadeghian) detests her dope-dealing stepfather Gordy (Bryant Carroll), whom she blames for standing in her way of an Art scholarship and for causing her mother Yeva’s (Pooya Mohseni) serious illness. The distraught young lady tries to make a clean break by moving to New York City. Here, a hobo in this largely hostile environment, Bella soon stumbles upon a compassionate trio. These are – a lady bartender Martha (Jessica Pimentel); a gay clothing store manager Standrick (Jaye Aexander); and a war veteran Owais (Rahim Karimloo) who hires her to help out in his coffee shop. Bella is able to survive and thrive with her new support system, while still harbouring hopes of rescuing her ailing mother.

Gradually, revelations about her three close friends unfold. One in particular is the most unsettling, which brings the unsavoury Gordy back into Bella’s life. Before she knows it, Bella finds herself immersed in scenarios of murder, illegal immigration, extortion and the machinations of drug dealers. The tension escalates with Bella’s friends having to decide why and how they need to aid her. Meanwhile, Bella herself tries to pull off a frantically-conceived plan aimed at disempowering Gordy, while also retrieving her Mom from his clutches. 

Bound is a study in subtlety, where producer-writer-director Isaac Hirotsu Woofter often lets the visuals convey plot points or character inflections, without having to spell them out. He also punctuates the narrative with clues that get the audience thinking and waxing curious about where these are leading. Plus, we see the cast exhibit a range of feelings, most especially from Sadeghian’s modalities of expression and voice. Meanwhile, Carroll’s turn as the apparently conflicted antagonist drives home the point that morality can be ambiguous, contradictory or paradoxical. Also, keeping in NYC’s spirit of tolerance, the cast is a confluence of people from different ethnicities and identities.

Among the movie’s minor faults is Owais’ role which doesn’t seem to be adequately fleshed out, apart from one heart-to-heart exchange with Bella. This leaves the audience questioning whether his loneliness and sad past is enough for him to empathise with his new employee to such a profound degree. At the same time, this character helps reaffirm one’s faith in humanity. Also, the last few scenes seem implausible, especially where Gordy and his partner in crime emerge from a fatally tight spot. Still, one can argue that hardboiled criminals are familiar with tackling such altercations. All in all, the complexity and depth of this film is definitely worth the price of admission. Crime usually doesn’t pay off the way it does in this flick.