BOUND BY FLESH – The Review

Where once it was the centerpiece of mainstream entertainment in the Midwest, nowadays the circus sideshow is gradually returning to the public eye as a subcultural curiosity after years of negative publicity and a rise in television, films and digital media. A major contributing factor of this growing subculture is the desire by some to acknowledge and promote an awareness and understanding of this nearly forgotten and often misunderstood part of our American history.

Writer and director Leslie Zemeckis‘s BOUND BY FLESH is a film that takes great price in doing its part in resurrecting the titillating and often taboo facts and folklore of the freak show. This documentary focuses on the lives of two fascinating girls, Daisy and Violet Hilton, also known as The Hilton Sisters. On the surface, and as always primarily publicized, Daisy and Violet had one overwhelming unusual trait… they are Siamese twins, conjoined by a ribbon of flesh on their backsides, so to speak.

Born to a mother with mental and emotional issues, to put it kindly, the Hilton sisters were essentially sold into the circus at a very young age. Throughout a life of emotional abuse, neglect and social isolation outside of when they performed, the Hilton sisters would become cash cows for their guardians/parents while having little to no exposure and freedom to the public or outside world on their own behalf. At this point, you may be asking why such a film would ever be enjoyable to watch, but wait… there’s more.

BOUND BY FLESH doesn’t just tell the Hilton sisters’ story, it tells the whole story. We learn about those closest to them, both good and bad, those they loved and the many struggles they went through. Despite all of this, the Hilton sisters maintained a mostly positive, forward-thinking and optimistic attitude toward life. Have you ever heard of such an uplifting, inspiring story of someone being given lemons and making lemon vinegar? I know. I may have lost you there. Let me explain.

With all the crap the Hilton sisters endured, with all the greed and cruelty that surrounded them, even with their charmingly — if not naive — innocence and resilience, in the end I cannot promise that everything works out in their favor. Its an unfortunate fact of life, but one that must be represented. That’s the world we live in and that’s an important element to what makes this such an engaging film.

Zemeckis does not bombard the viewer with flashy graphics or intense imagery. She doesn’t get experimental with form, but remains true to the classically functional style of non-fiction storytelling. Much in the same way so many of Ken Burns’ timeless documentaries have captured a segment of our American cultural past, BOUND BY FLESH takes two characters from that larger book and utilizes their stories to depict a much larger picture. Where many reality TV attempts have been made to revitalize the genre of the weird and bizarre, Zemeckis manages to embrace the strange while highlighting the humanity. This is not an easy thing to accomplish.

BOUND BY FLESH succeeds by combining a plethora of research, candid but revelatory interviews with past promoters, historians and a few people who were close to the sisters, some amazing photographs and even some old sound bites into one cohesive 90-minute motion picture exhibit of museum quality. From beginning to end, I found myself thoroughly mesmerized, not in that rubber-necking look at the crazy stuff way, but in a mindset of amazement. I found myself utterly shocked at the way these two girls were treated, even into their womanhood, yet awestruck by their willingness to endure and their drive to learn and grow and expand their talents and their art as performers.

BOUND BY FLESH opens in select theaters on June 27th, 2014.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars