Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990)
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Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! Movie Review
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! is a 1990 Spanish romantic comedy thriller film directed by Pedro Almodovar and starring Antonio Banderas and Victoria Abril. It is such an underrated, incredible film.
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“I have nothing,
so I have nothing to lose“
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An unbalanced but alluring former mental patient kidnaps a porn star prisoner in the hopes of convincing her to marry him. This movie was widely criticized by the US as well as British critics back when it was released for being too pornographic in nature. It just goes to show how Americans in particular are ridiculously prudish when it comes to sex in film. Nowadays, critics and audiences complain about the movie for being sexist. And I thoroughly disagree with that assessment too.
This is a highly sophisticated movie that doesn’t seem smart on the surface, but it is so layered and so complex when you start thinking about it more. Almodovar truthfully depicts the complex relationship between love/sex and obsessive possession as well as sadomasochism. Let’s face it, we are all possessive in the relationships with our significant others. This film portrays that, but takes it to the extreme. Still, the core idea rings true and it’s surprising to me that so many critics missed the point of this film.
If you got kidnapped like Abril’s character in this movie and you got the medicine and food served to you, would it be so wrong that you got kidnapped in the first place? This seemingly transgressive, but actually honest movie asks these very difficult questions about human sexuality and Almodovar depicts just how complex human beings are when it comes to sex and love.
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The depiction of the Stockholm syndrome is quite different here than in any other movies that deal with this issue. It is more complex and much more intriguing. We get to see the central relationship develop gradually, so that the eventual romance that develops between the two actually felt real and believable.
The psychology of the characters is fascinating here. She gets to care for him despite her impulses to run away while he is not your regular raping criminal. The two having sex on her own terms after she starts developing feelings for him is important as this is what made the movie actually romantic instead of misogynistic. He is alone in the world and wants her to be his wife, and although his methods in achieving that are obviously horrendous, the eventual love that develops between them is real and raw. If it makes you uncomfortable, that’s exactly the point.
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! has a somewhat uneven tone that ranges from intense to erotic to romantic to even comedic. I personally found the comedic elements excellent and I actually laughed on more than a couple of occasions. The movie is just vibrant and fun, so it’s difficult not to enjoy it. The score from Ennio Moricone is reliably strong while Almodovar’s directing is fantastic and the movie is also superbly edited and paced.
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The supporting characters in the movie actually worked and the older director was actually quite funny in his pervert ways. The two protagonists were superbly developed and performed. Not only is Victoria Abril instantly iconic in this movie and so memorable physically and in her performance overall, but Banderas himself has never been more physically intense. The sex scene was just marvelous how intimate and explosive it felt and oh so real.
