10 Best Erotic Thrillers Ever

The 1996 directorial debut of the Wachowskis lends itself to rather different readings today than it did at the time, given that both of the writer-director siblings have come out as transgender in the years since.

In common with most of the best erotic thrillers, Bound is essentially a more explicit play on film noir, given a twist in that the forbidden lovers are both female. Gina Gershon plays the ex-con handywoman who catches the eye of gangster's moll Jennifer Tilly; falling for one another, they plot to steal $2 million of mob money from Tilly's beau Joe Pantoliano.

Though shot on a far smaller budget than anything the Wachowskis have made since, Bound is every bit as stylish an endeavour as any of their subsequent films, with gorgeous set design and beautiful cinematography by Bill Pope.

Of course, it would all be for naught without the white-hot chemistry between Gershon and Tilly in the central roles. So powerful and sexually charged are their performances, it's easy to forget that, once we're past the first act, sex is left entirely off the agenda in favour of race against time tension.

Even so, the sex scenes - for which the Wachowskis enlisted prominent sex-positive feminist Susie Bright as an advisor - are potent stuff indeed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these almost landed the film an NC-17 rating in the US.