Written and directed by Isaac Woofter, Bound is a dark, winding tale about the lengths one girl goes to in order to escape entrenchment in the sordid activities of her step-father. Bella’s home life is filled with violence and anger as Gordy rules with an iron fist over her and her mother. He’s a manipulative drug dealer, preying on Bella’s mother who is in a vulnerable mental state. After failed attempts to save her mother from Gordy, Bella takes action to save herself. With a one way ticket to New York and a letter inviting her to art school, she goes in pursuit of something better.
With nothing to her name except Bandit, the pocket squirrel, Bella immediately falls on hard times. Sleeping rough isn’t part of the better life she envisioned for herself so it doesn’t take long for Bella to talk her way into a job as a barista, even with zero experience. Hippie coffee shop owner Owais sees Bella as a kind of diamond in the rough. Despite her obvious lack of experience, he asks her to come back the following day – wearing something more work appropriate. Not one to do things the conventional way, Bella steals some jeans from a shop and crashes in the bathroom of a local dive bar rather than staying at the women’s shelter Owais mentioned. After such a turbulent childhood, she feels safer among the chaos.
Amidst this chaos, three important friendships are fostered. One with Owais, who seems keen to protect Bella almost like a father. Marta, the fiery owner of the dive bar, provides a place to sleep in exchange for working in the evenings. And an unlikely friendship with Standrick – an aspiring fashion designer who takes no bullshit from the jean-stealing Bella.
Things seem to be looking up. Bella shows herself to be a skilled metal worker, creating art pieces for the coffee shop and to decorate the bar. But after seeing Marta with her step-father, the line between Bella’s two lives is suddenly not so distinct. Trust is shattered, bonds are torn apart. Gordy has his criminal claws in many pies, commanding the lives not just of Bella and her mother, but Marta and the bar too. Woofter takes the drama to the next level in the third act of the film. The solid character foundations that have been developed during the rising action pay off in an explosive climax.
Bound is a solid story on paper, even before migrating to the screen. As the writer and director, Woofter does immense justice to both the basis of narrative and the visualisation of the story. Assisting him in delivering his vision is a truly excellent cast of characters.
Alexandra Faye Sadeghian as Bella stands strong in centre stage. She has a strong command of her character’s darkness, allowing chinks of light to dapple through the dense canopy of sarcasm and anger where necessary in order to give the character full depth. Sadeghian has a bond with Ramin Karimloo’s character Owais that feels something like a paternal relationship. Their emotional connection is almost unspoken, but the pair are more open with each other than anyone else. Providing much of the bounce and vigour of the film is Jaye Alexander as Standrick. With a number of theatrical appearances under his belt, Alexander makes the transition from stage to screen look effortless. He creates a captivating character, bringing humour to the role as well as a nuanced sensitivity that breathes gently under the exaggerated exterior. The trio of Bella’s friends is completed by Jessica Pimentel as Marta. Pimentel brings a drive and passion to the role that truly sets the screen on fire. It’s hard not to be reminded of her role as Maria Ruiz in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, but the new dynamic she creates in Bound carves out another memorable performance. Finally, our antagonist, Gordy, is portrayed by Bryant Carroll who brings multiple devious dimensions to the character. He masters anger and violence as well as the subtleties of emotional manipulation.
Together, the whole cast and all the peripheral characters make this an excellent film. With strong direction from Isaac Woofter, Bound takes leaps and bounds towards what good filmmaking is all about.
Watch the trailer below!