Bound

This is the first film made by the (then) Wachowski Brothers, in 1996. I’d never heard of it, but offered the chance to see it by the magnificent mubi.com, I thought I’d give it a go. It’s brilliant. Stylish, tough, fast-moving, a crime caper oozing with the threat of imminent violence, but somehow you know that these two smart women will end up outwitting the thugs on the other side. It’s part of the fun that at times hat seems in doubt; a baddy has a pair of clippers in his hand, and is about to dismember a finger - when the phone rings. It’s sort of corny but sort of affectionate at the same time, and light years away from the self-important solemnity of The Matrix, which would seriously make their reputation three years later.

And it has a glorious ending. The two women, of very contrasting styles, have brought off their triumph and are about to drive off into the sunset. The tough, streetwise one says to the other - “You know the difference between us?” “No” she says. “Me neither.”