Tied Hands

The premise and structure of TIED HANDS are a bit comical. A little old lady goes off to Tel Aviv to try to buy marijuana for her son, who's in pain. An improbable-looking customer for weed, she winds up in one misadventure after another. But that's just the background, and in the foreground there's nothing comical. The young man is in bad shape and about half an hour in, the lady says that she never really knew him and maybe the tour through his milieu will give her a better picture of him. At least it gives her the opportunity to go to the mat for her son, whom she feels bad about leaving to cope by himself with his problems as a gay man, and achieve some atonement that way. And the movie makes a strong unstated appeal for the easier availability of medical marijuana. In less than a decade since the movie came out, its depictions of gay bars and AIDS and drug dealing have dated somewhat, but the performances hold up well. The message could be stated in a half-column editorial but the performances make the movie worth seeing.