Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

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Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

NC-17

1990

1h 45m

Mystery & Thriller

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

69%

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32 Reviews

78%

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10,000+ Ratings

Newly released from a mental institution, Ricky (Antonio Banderas) heads straight for a reunion with the love of his life, B-movie actress Marina (Victoria Abril). The trouble is, Marina doesn't remember him -- or the fling they had during her years as a junkie and porn star. Determined to make Marina love him, Ricky barges into her apartment and ties her up. With a captive audience, Ricky is sure it's only a matter of time before his beloved returns his affections.

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Critics Consensus

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! undermines its own effectiveness with an excess of camp, but writer-director Pedro Almodóvar and an attractive cast make it all worth watching.

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Keith Phipps

The Dissolve

08/26/2014

3/5

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! comes from a transitional phase in Almodvar's career, one in which he was using bigger budgets to hone his aesthetic, create characters with greater depth, but still indulge a punkish urge to shock.

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

05/04/2005

C+

An off-kilter - and off-putting - mix of humor, sex, and Stockholm Syndrome obsession.

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Austin Chronicle

10/01/2003

Psychodrama and dark humor flow freely from this setup.

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Terry Francis

Southern Voice (Atlanta)

05/09/2023

4/4

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! is about the nature of romantic obsession, and it's the most subdued Almodóvar film I know. Yet the effrontery is there. It lies in the ironic tenderness with which Almodóvar handles his themes.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

11/18/2022

A superior film with excellent performances. [Full review in Spanish]

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PJ Nabarro

Patrick Nabarro

07/01/2020

1/5

This film hasn't aged at all well and really does, in light of #metoo, look like an unfortunate anomaly in the otherwise compassionate and humane filmography of Almodóvar.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Mar 16

Ages 18 and older only.

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Raymond G.

@AmonRay Jan 15

Fun, sexy, campy… pure Almodovar!

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Stephen C

@RT98154959 12/29/2024

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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dave s

@RT68722908 10/20/2022

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what Pedro Almodovar's Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! is all about. Stockholm Syndrome, perhaps? Maybe the fact that all relationships have a degree of possessiveness? Or maybe just an off-center romantic comedy? Hmmm. After being released from a mental hospital, Ricky (Antonio Banderas) abducts the love of his life, Marina (Victoria Abril), an actress he had a one-night stand with the previous year, with the intent of making her love him. Despite being extremely well-made (great performances, wildly colorful, intriguing but disturbing story), the whole thing feels ugly as Marina is beaten, held against her will, and tied to the bed repeatedly throughout the film. The film may have worked better if the comedy had been removed and been handled like a thriller, or if the violence had been removed and the movie handled in some way like a comedy. As it, though, it all just feels really uncomfortable.

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07/21/2020

A crazy horror romcom. What to make of it? There are moments of genuine horror, genuine tenderness and genuine comedy, but combining them in the central relationship is hugely problematic, and ultimately it just doesn't work. Still worth the watch, even only for the luscious Morricone score.

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04/03/2020

Beautiful shots, radiant colors, great performances and an insane screenplay. Almodovar tells a mad love story in an eccentric way.

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Pedro Almodóvar

Director

Victoria Abril

Marina Osorio

Antonio Banderas

Ricky

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Máximo Espejo

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Synopsis

Newly released from a mental institution, Ricky (Antonio Banderas) heads straight for a reunion with the love of his life, B-movie actress Marina (Victoria Abril). The trouble is, Marina doesn't remember him -- or the fling they had during her years as a junkie and porn star. Determined to make Marina love him, Ricky barges into her apartment and ties her up. With a captive audience, Ricky is sure it's only a matter of time before his beloved returns his affections.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Producer: Enrique Posner
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: El Deseo S.A.
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Comedy
Original Language: European Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): May 4, 1990, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.3M
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Surround