When a money-laundering mobster finds himself in possession of two million dollars cash, the last person he expects to rip him off is his long suffering, glamorous moll, Violet (Tilly). Sadly, mighty Caesar (Pantoliano) hasn't figured on his formerly shrinking partner striking up a passionate relationship with spanner-toting handywoman Corky (Gershon). Nor it seems, has he ever watched a Gref Hippolyte movie (Carnal Crimes, Secret Games etc) because if he had, he wouldn't end up looking like such a dumb schmuck.

Pitched somewhere between a classic '40s film-noir and a schlocky '90s erotic thriller, Bound is a cracking sexual nail-biter. Gershon and Tilly are wholly convincing as the fatally attracted lovers who conspire to royally screw over the men in their lives, with explosive results. It's hard to believe that the pacey, economical script comes from the same partnership behind last year's lumbering Assassins, but then perhaps only the Wachowskis themselves are capable of directing their own material. After all, who else would go to the trouble of calling in lesbian expert Susie Bright to supervise the Sapphic scenes, just to ensure that they actually look convincing? It's a policy that pays dividend, and reflects the kind of loving attention with which the whole movie is crafted. Compactly thrilling entertainment.