Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990)

What a waste of my time!!!

Let's be realistic.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Pedro Almodovar's "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" from 1989 is an earlier film from this quirky director. Almodovar's characters are inevitably off the wall and in bizarre situations. This film and its characters are no exception."Tie Me Up!" was given an X rating (later NC-17) for a couple of scenes and in the United States at least, it was quite controversial.The story concerns a recently-released mental hospital patient, Ricky (Antonio Banderas) who kidnaps an ex-porn star, Marina (Victoria Abril) currently making a low-budget horror film. Though the title suggests S&M, there isn't any. Ricky ties her up when he needs to leave the apartment.An expert in carpentry, locksmithing, and other usable occupations, Ricky had actually been leaving the mental hospital when he felt like it and then returning. During one of those times, he had a one-night stand with Marina. Deeply in love with her, he stalks her on the film set and, when she doesn't speak to him, confronts her in her apartment, declaring his love and his intention of marrying her and fathering her children. Marina, of course, would like to escape him, but Ricky makes that difficult. A former heroin addict, Marina has a toothache and explains that nothing will help except strong medicine from her doctor up the street. So Ricky handcuffs her to him and they walk to the doctor's apartment, where Marina receives an injection and a prescription. Later, when she needs more drugs, Ricky goes to the town square to score some and ends up beaten to a pulp. When he returns, Marina is horrified and begins to have real feelings for him. Meanwhile, her sister Lola (Loles Leon) is worried, believing Marina to have disappeared.There is a very long sex scene in this film that took 9 hours to film, with Almodovar using the last take."Tie Me Up!" launched Banderas in the United States, and this is his last film with Almodovar. He plays Ricky beautifully - as an innocent from a troubled background who will do anything to convince this woman to love him. Abril is a sexy and feisty Marina, and, like Ricky, she is a lost soul trying to find her way. Ricky is an orphan; Abril has a mother, sister, and nephew, but both of them are alone in their worlds.Despite the title and the sex, this is actually a sweet tale with likable characters. Almodovar often has a bizarre way of telling a story and making a point, but the results, with few exceptions, are well worth it.

I have seen 'Tie me up, Tie me down' yesterday night with my wife. We both came up with a feeling that it was quite average, and we both were quite disappointed relatively to the good rating it has, and the majority of positive reviews. In fact when I lay in bed, yesterday night, I was thinking of why didn't I enjoy more? Great cast, fantastic camera work, interesting moments and on occasion it contains hilarious jokes. Yet the movie seemed to drag and bore instead of entertain or touch feelings. This morning I think I have the answer.I didn't really buy what the director tried to sell. Marina didn't look like a heroin junkie or a porn actress. Her place was quite neat and she didn't have any sign of addiction or weakness towards drugs. She didn't look like the one who needed to be saved from herself. So I was told one thing but saw another and subconsciously it didn't fit. All the story was a bit silly and childish. Also, because it felt a bit childish and silly the explicit nudity and sex scenes seemed unnecessary.To sum it up, 'Tie me up, tie me down' is light, has funny moments and without perversions prevailing in Almadovar's films on one hand. But on the other hand, it doesn't involve any strong feelings and it's not funny enough to hold for the whole movie and to be considered a good comedy.

It's safe to say that even in a film by Pedro Almodovar that is only marginally successful within the margins there are some good, steamy, questionable times to be had. I can just imagine Pedro sitting in front of his notebook just figuring out ways to mix sex, film-making, kidnapping, and other lewd exercises into some kind of cohesive single film. What makes a very good chunk of Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down exciting satirically is that Almodovar never gives in to making anything TOO serious. Which is perhaps what ends up transitioning the situation Ricky (Antonio Banderas) and Marina (Victoria Abril) are in from the absurd and flirtingly masochistic to the (ironically) conventional and quasi-sweetness that is obviously deep in Almodovar. Perhaps the tying up and re-tying becomes part of a metaphor on the filmmaker's part, that despite it being something very dangerous and totally provocative it's also inviting in ways that would be elusive otherwise. Then again, that the material does (mostly) work, by being so disturbing in the bluntness and perpetually deranged mind-set of Ricky, but then in the human connections that are enhanced all the more. If only the motivations- even in such loose and wacky-Almodovar circumstances- were a little more convincing. Nevertheless, I liked a lot about Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down up until it goes off the rails with its logic turning into knots (simply, I just don't buy that Marina falls for Ricky just like that, even if she was an ex-junkie porn star, and Ricky's advances are like that of a uppity, headstrong but shy 13 year old, a slight reminder of A Life Less Ordinary's bizarrely innocuous kidnapping turned romance). Chiefly, the performances and the usually arty-yet-trashy style from Almodovar and his crew. Banderas is, by the way, in one of his best and funniest performances here, a near emblem of the male ideal for a life with a woman, and a with an innocent yet fervent attraction to bondage, with that perfect look in his eyes detailing all even in brief moments. Yet there was something about his stay in the mental home all those years that did something to his ideas towards sex and what it is to live, and Banderas captures this mix of intense sadism crossed with the heart of an old Hollywood-studio leading man who will do anything to brush the leading lady off of her feet. Abril is always believable too, even when Almodovar gives her character a turn around into something more akin to an exploitation film, however sweet it tries to be. While she decides to underplay her immediate fear of her kidnapper, it works to add a level of comic timing to Ricky's own odd-ball ways. They make a great pair, really, especially when it comes to that 'turning point', where Almodovar uses his unique style to get five ceiling-mirrored shot of a pivotal scene.There's also a fantastic role of the director of the film Marina is starring in at the start of the film, the aged Maximo Espejo (Francisco Rabal, who's been in countless films including the Eclipse and Belle de Jour), who has the ideas burning and changing around at a beat as to what his ending will be for his actress- death, being saved, something else? His moments on screen display a richness that lies often in Almodovar's script, where the surreal pressures of shooting the movie for Maximo somewhat carry over- and sort of dissipate as the characters become vulnerable- into that realm where reality and un-reality cross paths. This is heightened, and made a little additionally conventional, by the musical score, which like many of Almodovar's work is a tip of the hat to Herrmann compositions and old Hollywood romantic classics. There's even an emotional upheaval when Ricky and Marina meet again on that balcony overlooking the vista. The wildest thing about the picture is that one does become absorbed in the push and pull relationship between 'kidnapper' and 'kidnapee' (I quote that for its a little redundant to use those terms as the film goes on), and that these f***ed up people are practically the most average couple you'd ever meet. There's sensational comedy stacked in there too, in Ricky's behavior (moustache), the film within the film being shot (that strongman character is amazing), the random TV commercial about Spanish retirees, and just the consistent absurdity in the repetitive, ritual-side of the tying up and down. But there's something missing in Almodovar's third act to live up to the better parts early on, and he chickens out on really making this a much better, more challenging effort. I'll probably watch it someday again though, if only for Banderas and Rabals' performances.

Pedro Almodóvar is certainly a controversial director and at first glance a lot of people consider him a man who exploits sex. In fact he does the complete opposite; he studies sexual relationships, sexual tension, sexual desires, lust and love. I've always considered him a remarkable director with the likes of his tightly "knitted" masterpiece Live Flesh and the evocative drama Talk to Her. Though not always appealing to the mass audience (being one of the directors with the dreaded NC-17 inappropriately labelling his films) he has succeeded in attracting critics, movie buffs and other directors to his films. With all the labels and controversy that Almodóvar has had shafted upon himself you'd be surprised at how differently you may interpret his films.Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! Follows the exploits of a man called Ricky (played by Antonio Banderas) who gets let out an asylum and stalks an "actress/porn star" named Marina who he once had sex with. He decides to kidnap her and tie her up, while still feeling guilty at his behaviour he hopes Marina will fall in love with him. The story moves at a very exhilarating pace as the viewer becomes introduced to a series of generally bizarre characters. The film manages to perfectly show the two polar opposites of both Marina and Ricky, yet including the similarities of them both. Ricky is definitely not what you'd call likable and yet of the surface Marina has a vibrant, amiable personality around her. Then once you come to know Marina you'll become uncertain of her "innocent" personality.The film's offbeat sexy style is certainly one that will provoke the viewer, but at times the sexiness is taken away by the character's actions which are important for showing what kind of people they're. Almodóvar's visual style is one that excites and differs between claustrophobia and then opening the wide world the characters are surrounded by to the viewer. I've always considered Almodóvar to use a distinct style that feels as if its theatre, a lot of the scenes feels very staged which I personally adore. The intelligent use of vivacious colour to show the isolating pop culture is one that exhilarates the general feel of the film.The script manages itself so creatively around the characters, as you watch a character suddenly change personality you'll come to realise the script writing helps the scenes burst with charisma and charm. Even with all the charm and wit you'll still find yourself overwhelmed by a sense of outlandish creepiness that undertones the film. The passionate romance seems so unreal and only kicks in for the main characters as the film progresses. For a film that revolves around very little set pieces and characters you'll find yourself involved with the eccentric prowess. The film's superb use of music creates the tones with excellence.The film is certainly not one that is realistic and rather relies on the extreme character's fantasies to decide a resolution of your own. Technically dazzling and structured with such ease there's nothing quite like an Almodóvar work of art. Comic virtuosity enables the film the enchanting versatility and for that you're bound to love it. Downright brilliant, Spanish cinema with an extensive cult appeal and one that manages to captivate and enthral at all times. Not a film for everyone, but I'd say it's one that you should definitely attempt if you're interested in art house cinema.