This already has most of the Wachowski staples in place: the noir influence, the dramatic visuals, a theme of people breaking out of their confinements, the one-note acting; it’s all here already. It takes a while to get going, as the first act is mostly filled with Tilly’s annoying whisper talk and Gershon playing a Michelle Rodriguez character. I wasn’t exactly intrigued, because there’s very little to these women. Sure, the steamy, lesbian angle makes it unique, but besides that they’re mostly uninteresting characters. I’d argue that a good filmmaker shouldn’t need 40 minutes to make us care about a simple relationship. However, once the actual plot kicks in, the movie instantly finds a great pace and becomes very entertaining. Pantoliano gives a great performance here, and the movie works because of his performance and the filmmaking. The music, editing and camerawork are all at a level that you don’t see often, it truly is a great exercise in building tension within a confined environment. The ending is very satisfying (albeit predictable), and I ended up liking the overall movie quite a bit, but it could’ve been great if the first act did a better job at engaging me emotionally.

6.5/10

Easily the best film the Wachowskis have ever done. I heartily wish that they had stayed low-key, under the radar, and made great scorching films like this one.

**A competent and well-made erotic thriller, but without great originality.**

This movie was a pleasant surprise. It came out in 1996, when dramatic films with a strong erotic content were still in vogue. Perhaps it is one of the last to have known some success, in fact. Understandably, the film remained very much alive in the heydays of VHS, I think it made its way to DVD, but gradually fell into oblivion where it currently rests. Is it deserved? Maybe not, but it's understandable to a certain extent: it's not an excellent film, but it will be a good bet for anyone who likes erotic thrillers.

The screenplay is based on the lesbian case of two women, who become involved and decide to run away with a large fortune in mafia money, incriminating the mafia boyfriend of one of them. This is a script devoid of any kind of originality and that can only surprise for the lesbian content and the high dose of nudity, because all the violence, the profanity, the strong dialogues, the fast scenes, all of these are elements that we all expected. in a film of this type.

The work of the directors is excellent and opened the doors to the “Matrix” franchise, with which they would come to consecrate themselves before falling back into obscurity from which they rarely manage to rise. They managed to insert many nuances of film noir into a strongly erotic plot, including the aesthetics and lighting of several scenes, and the sets, costumes, cinematography and soundtrack are truly good.

The two leading actresses are Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly. None of them are great actresses, each of them has had their moments of brilliance in films where they have minor roles, and I don't think they will ever go beyond that. So, what they do here is interesting because they both showed commitment and gave a lot to the project. It doesn't mean they are extraordinarily talented or great actresses. The fact is that they got a good partnership on stage, they have a strong and credible chemistry, and the film builds on top of that effectively. As an actor, Joe Pantoliano is better and gives us the best interpretation of the film, and it's worth seeing the actor working with them.