Boxing Helena
Boxing Helena is a 1993 American Avant-garde thriller film directed by Jennifer Lynch and starring Sherilyn Fenn, Julian Sands, and Bill Paxton.[5][6] Before its release, the film's production was hampered by legal battles with Madonna and Kim Basinger, who both backed out of playing Helena. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1993, where it was received poorly.[6] After receiving an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, the film was given an R rating on appeal and released in the United States in September 1993. It was a critical and financial failure.[6]
Boxing Helena
Jennifer Chambers Lynch
Philippe Caland
- Philippe Caland
- Carl Mazzocone
- Julian Sands
- Sherilyn Fenn
- Bill Paxton
- Art Garfunkel
- Betsy Clark
- Kurtwood Smith
- Bojan Bazelli
- Frank Byers
- Orion Classics (North America)
- Republic Pictures (International)[1][2]
- September 3, 1993
105 minutes[3]
United States
English
$1.8 million[4]
Plot[edit]
Nick Cavanaugh, an Atlanta surgeon, begins moving into his recently deceased mother's lavish home with his girlfriend, Anne. However, he remains fixated on Helena—a beautiful but shrewish woman with whom he had one intimate experience— although she harbors disdain for him. Nick and Anne host a housewarming party and Nick invites Helena, who leaves early with a friend and co-worker of Nick's, much to his shock. Anne leaves Nick after realizing his obsession with Helena. Helena forgets her address book at Nick's house and the next day reluctantly agrees to return to retrieve it. After Helena suffers a high-grade tibial fracture in a hit-and-run motor vehicle collision as she attempts to leave on foot, Nick kidnaps her and covertly provides her with illicit medical care in the confines of his home. He goes to the extreme of amputating both her legs above the knee and torturing her in an attempt to control her. Later, following her attempt to choke him, Nick goes even further by amputating her arms above the elbow.
Despite Helena being the victim of Nick's kidnapping and mutilation, she dominates the dialogue with constant ridicule of his shortcomings and continues rejecting his affections despite being dependent on him for care. She begrudgingly becomes calmer and more accepting of Nick until the unexpected arrival of her boyfriend Ray, who has been searching for the missing Helena, which escalates into a violent altercation. However, at the end of the film, it is revealed that holding Helena against her will and dismembering her were vivid dreams that Nick had while waiting at the hospital for the still intact Helena to recover from surgery. In reality, he had sought proper medical help for her after the accident.
In popular culture[edit]
The film was referenced in the television series Gilmore Girls (S3E7: "They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?"), as well as The Nanny (S1E22: "I Don't Remember Mama"). The film also inspired the song "Helena" by Misfits from their album Famous Monsters and "Helena 2" from their album Cuts from the Crypt.[22][23]
The film's title was used as the name of an episode of the sixth season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, when Will Smith's character takes boxing lessons from an attractive instructor named Helena.
The 19th episode of the third season of Melrose Place, "Boxing Sydney", and the fifth season finale of Daria, "Boxing Daria", both take inspiration from the film's title.