BY RAYMOND BENSON

“TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN!” (1990; Directed by Pedro Almodóvar)

(The Criterion Collection)

FIFTY SHADES OF ALMODÓVAR

By Raymond Benson

Over twenty years prior to the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey, acclaimed and eccentric Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar delivered to the world a kinky morsel of bondage-love—Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (original Spanish title: Átame!). The director had just come off the international success of his 1988 picture, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. While the filmmaker’s early ‘80s films are certainly of note, it was Women that thrust Almodóvar into the mainstream consciousness.

However, when it came to releasing his next film in the U.S. in 1990, Almodóvar was met with some resistance from the MPAA ratings board. The dreaded X rating was threatened, forcing Miramax, the film’s distributor, to sue. The film was eventually released “unrated”; however, it was this lawsuit that prompted the MPAA to change the stigmatized X to the more consumer-friendly NC-17. (Henry and June became the first U.S. film to be released with the new NC-17 rating. Ironically, the NC-17 rating wasn’t an improvement. The stigma remained and the media in many areas of the country continued the policy of refusing to advertise NC-17-rated movies.)

The picture does give you a pretty good barometer on judging the level of sexually-explicit scenes in the cinema. It’s pretty shocking—however, intelligent adults in the audience might recognize that Almodóvar is pulling a fast one on us—which is very much a stylistic signature trait of the director’s. We just didn’t know that in 1990.

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! is a comedy, a dark one at that, but I’m sure many people might see it as offensive and misogynistic, especially in the wake of recent events such as the Cleveland, Ohio kidnappings, enslavement, and ultimate rescue of three women in 2013. That’s essentially the plot of the film, except it’s only one woman in the picture.

Antonio Banderas plays Ricki, an unbalanced, violent, but charming mental patient who is discharged from the institution. Why? Who knows—he should never have been let out. Anyway, he has a fixation on a Marina, a former porn actress now making B-movies (courageously played by Almodóvar favorite Victoria Abril). Like in William Wyler’s 1965 film, The Collector, Banderas kidnaps his prey—and isn’t very gentle in going about it—and keeps Marina a prisoner in her apartment. Ricki’s goal is to “get her to love him” so they can be married and have children. At first, she is naturally repulsed, terrified, and resistant. Until he can trust her, Ricki binds her to the bed whenever he has to go out. This goes on for some time until finally Stockholm Syndrome sets in and Marina actually does fall in love with her captor. I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say that things turn out in Almodóvar’s typically bizarre way.

Feminists hated it.

What they might have missed was the fact that Almodóvar intended the piece to be like the B-movie that Marina is making within the story. He wanted to make a “Roger Corman movie.” Thus, much of the picture has the trappings of a cheap horror film. Even Ennio Morricone’s score is sinister and nervy—and this is the clue that Almodóvar wants us to laugh at the situation. Banderas’ Ricki is so utterly likable (as well as handsome, hot, etc.) that we are fooled into ignoring the seriousness of his crimes. Marina’s reactions to him also become unbelievably tolerant, despite the fact that she is his captive. It is this heightened unrealism that is the key to not only Tie Me Up! but also much of Almodóvar’s work. In other words, this is theatre of the absurd. Go with the flow and you may come out of it enlightened by notions of human sexuality and relationships that you might not have considered before. Besides, the two central performances are so winning that you can’t help but stay riveted to the screen. Banderas, in particular, has never been better.

The restoration is gorgeous, colorful, and sharp, as it was supervised by both Almodóvar and his brother, executive producer Agustin Almodóvar. Extras include a brand new documentary on the making of the film, featuring current interviews with the director, Banderas, Abril, and others involved in the production. There is also a new interview with Almodóvar collaborator and Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker. A 2003 conversation between Almodóvar and Banderas is included, as well as footage from the film’s 1990 premiere party in Madrid. The included booklet contains a piece Almodóvar wrote about the picture, a 1989 interview with the director, and a dialogue about the film between filmmaker Wes Anderson and critic Kent Jones.

So get out the handcuffs and rope, settle down with your significant other, and have yourself a kinky old time with Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! Adults only please!

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