Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

Play trailer

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

NC-17,

1990,

1h 45m,

Mystery & Thriller/

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

69%

32 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

69%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

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.

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Keith Phipps

The Dissolve

Aug 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.

Go to Full Review

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

May 4, 2005

C+

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

Go to Full Review

Austin Chronicle

Oct 1, 2003

Psychodrama and dark humor flow freely from this setup.

Go to Full Review

Terry Francis

Southern Voice (Atlanta)

May 9, 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.

Go to Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Nov 18, 2022

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

Go to Full Review

PJ Nabarro

Patrick Nabarro

Jul 1, 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.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Albus S

Dec 26, 2018

Like reading a play, bright vivid colors, witty and obsessive love

Hermione W

Dec 28, 2017

Greatly underrated in my view possibly because it gleefully mocks respectable thought.

Finn S

Jun 22, 2017

Far less dark than the later The Skin I Live In, though both feature Antonio Banderas as a abductor, in this film Banderas already loves his victim, who eventually fall in love with him in return, and love is the reason for the abduction. There is some darkness, too--the fact that the victim is an addict and the abductor gets beaten getting drugs for her, but there are lighter notes, too, such as the hilarious scene of the victim taking a bath that I thought was just hilarious. Definitely worth a watch, as are most of Almodovar's films.

See more

Hagrid S

Feb 4, 2015

7.6 [Pedro Almodóvar]

Read all reviews

Pedro Almodóvar

Director

Victoria Abril

Marina Osorio

Antonio Banderas

Ricky

Lolas León

Lola

Francisco Rabal

Máximo Espejo

Julieta Serrano

Alma

Panic in Needle Park

79%

75%

Panic in Needle Park

Watchlist

The House of Yes

61%

76%

The House of Yes

Watchlist

Cemetery Man

63%

78%

Cemetery Man

Watchlist

Cabaret Balkan

79%

85%

Cabaret Balkan

Watchlist

Montenegro

88%

77%

Montenegro

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings