Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (, , "Tie Me!") is a 1989 Spanish dark romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Victoria Abril and Antonio Banderas alongside Loles Léon, Francisco Rabal, Julieta Serrano, María Barranco, and Rossy de Palma. The plot follows a recently released psychiatric patient who kidnaps an actress in order to make her fall in love with him. He believes his destiny is to marry her and father her children.
The film was highly successful with both critics and audiences in Spain. Its United States release was entangled in controversy, instrumental in the implementation by the MPAA of a new rating category, NC-17, for films of an explicit nature that were previously unfairly regarded as pornographic because of the X rating.
Plot
Ricky, a 23-year-old psychiatric patient, has been deemed cured and is released from a mental institution. Until then, he has been the lover of the woman director of the hospital. An orphan, free, and alone, his goal is to have a normal life with Marina Osorio, an actress, former porn star, and recovering drug addict, whom he once slept with during an escape from the asylum.
Ricky discovers Marina's whereabouts from a film journal announcement of the start of her next film. He goes to the studio, where Marina is in her last day at work filming The Midnight Phantom, a Euro-horror film about a hideously mutilated, masked muscleman in love with Marina's character. The film is directed by Máximo Espejo, an old film director confined to a wheelchair after a stroke. Máximo is a gentle mentor to Marina, and threatens to throw out a journalist who mentions the words "porn" and "junkie" in Marina's presence. His protection of the actress is not completely innocent, since he is sexually attracted to Marina, enjoying what could be his last experience of directing a sexy female lead.
When Ricky comes to the set, he steals a few necessary items including the keys to Marina's apartment, and before long, he is an unwelcome presence in her life. Ricky, with a long-haired wig, does a handstand to try to capture her attention, but Marina does not remember him and quickly dismisses him.
After filming the last scene, Marina goes home to change for the post-shoot party. Ricky follows her to her apartment. When she answers the door, Ricky forces his way in. He grabs her and headbutts her to silence her when she screams; he tapes her mouth and binds her with rope. Marina wakes with a terrible toothache, which normal painkillers do not relieve, as she is addicted to stronger drugs. Ricky explains that he has captured her, so that when she gets to know him better, she will fall in love and they will get married and have children. Marina declares she will never love him, understandably enraged at being handcuffed, gagged and lashed to the bed. However, Ricky remains determined to win her heart.
Marina is shocked and in pain, and eventually persuades Ricky to take her to a doctor who can give her the necessary painkillers. Ricky barely leaves her alone with the doctor, and she is unable to communicate her plight. They cannot obtain the drugs in the pharmacy, so Ricky goes off to buy them on the black market. However, rather than paying the street price, he attacks the dealer to steal the tablets.
During the wrap party, Marina's sister Lola, who is the assistant director of The Midnight Phantom, steals the show with a musical number. Increasingly worried about her sister's disappearance, Lola visits Marina's apartment and leaves a note. To avoid being discovered, Ricky moves Marina to her next door neighbor's apartment, which is empty, but the owner has left his keys with Lola, so she can water his plants while he is away during the summer.
In the street again, Ricky is spotted by the dealer whom he had attacked. Ricky is then seriously beaten, robbed and left unconscious. During his absence, Marina makes a desperate but somewhat half-hearted attempt to escape from her captivity. However, when Ricky returns covered with blood and cuts, she sees his vulnerability and devotion to her, no matter how misguided. She cares for him, cleaning and sterilizing his wounds, and is suddenly struck by the realization that she has fallen in love with her captor. They make love at length and Ricky seems to be on the verge of achieving his aim. They decide to take a trip together to his native village.