Boxing Helena | | Cast : | Julian Sands, Sherilyn Fenn | | Director : | Jennifer Chambers Lynch | | Studio : | Mgm/Ua Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | September 03, 1993 | | DVD Released Date : | January 07, 2003 | | Language : | French (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 02, 2005 | | Summary | Bad movie with a surprise ending | Content
 | "Boxing Helena" is a mediocre effort from Jennifer Chambers Lynch, a close relative to David Lynch ("Blue Velvet", "Wild at Heart"). It stars Julian Sands as the prestigious, though cowardly, Dr. Nick Cavanaugh. His mother just passed away, and he returns to his mansion. Meanwhile, he sees Helena (Sherilyn Fenn), a woman he used to date. Blinded by lust, he continues to pursue her. One night, he spies on her whilst taking a jog on the street. But after seeing her make love to Ray (Bill Paxton), his reaction is primarily disgust. He soon devises an elaborate party at which Helena and his friends are invited. Helena spurns Nick, and catches the eye of Russell, one of Nick's friends. Helena leaves the party with Russell, much to Nick's chagrin. On the next day, Helena is leaving for Mexico. However, it's discovered she left her purse at Nick's house. The inevitable happens. She's lured back into his house. He tries to seduce her, but she rejects him. Then a tragic accident ensues, leaving her bedridden. To go into further detail into the plot would possibly mean spoiling a relatively surprising ending. The movie exists mostly for its graphic sexual content. It was initially given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA, and deservedly so. It was perhaps the most controversial film of 1993. It was released just a year after "Basic Instinct", which director Paul Verhoeven had to recut several times before getting an acceptable R rating. Graphic content aside, the film became notorious for Kim Basinger's arguement that the film's sex was explicit without being artful. As a movie, "Boxing Helena" often fails to deliver. It's plot is unrealisitic, and its dialogue is especially laughable. Sherilyn Fenn's Helena is portrayed as a super-bitchy temptress, while Julian Sand's Nick Cavanaugh is seen as an immoral coward. While backed by a magnificent supporting cast, including Bill Paxton as the loutish Ray, Art Garfunkel as Cavanaugh's sympathetic friend Lawrence, and aided by a soundtrack featuring such songs as Tears for Fears' "Woman in Chains", "Boxing Helena" fails on almost all critical levels.
|
| Rating | | | Date | May 30, 2005 | | Summary | Very, very weird | Content
| Ok so Its clear that after watching this movie we all know that David Lynchs talent has not rubbed off onto daughter Jennifer Chambers Lynch, this movie is, not surprising her one and only movie to date.
We are introduced to Nick, a wealthy and successful surgeon who is obsessively in love with Helena, a beautiful woman who he once had a one night stand with. When she has a terrible accident outside his house he operates immediatly, amputating her legs and later her arms.
The storyline Is I think somewhat disturbing, and may have had potential, but It just wasnt pulled off. The dialouge is very questionable, It was particularly funny when Nick says to Helena "You're sick" um...shes not the one cutting off peoples limbs! The flick looks and sounds like any cheap b grade film you'd find made in the eighties or early nineties. Also the basis of Nicks obsession is never explained, aside from the obvious, Helena (Sherilyn Fenn) is stunning, we are never given any reason, Nick already has a decent and nice girlfriend, and Helena treats him worse then a dog, the logic just isnt there!
Performance wise, Sherilyn Fenn is great, well as good as one could be with the material given. Julian Sands, I thought he was terrible, couldnt take his accent seriously, might have had something to do with his dialouge "but Helena I LOVE you!" every god damned five minutes.
Interesting at best, worth watching for the mystical and beautiful Sherilyn Fenn. If anything an unforgetable film experience, even if it for worse. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 25, 2005 | | Summary | like father like daughter? | Content
| not necessarily, it's no Blue Velvet. i had somewhat high expectations of this film, and they weren't really met. the actor who played Nick needs to go back to acting school and i'm guessing i'm supposed to hate and despise helena, but i just kept laughing at her. oh well, it's not like i spent money to see this.
hahaha, Garfunkel, hahahahaha
good story, poor execution. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 21, 2005 | | Summary | Disturbing and unforgettable | Content
| To fully savor this movie you need to suspend your judgement about the implausibility of the plotline, the stilted and artificial dialogue and the logistics of the central characters' lives. Once that is accomplished, you can enjoy the riveting sensuality of this production. That is, if you will yourself to overlook the deeply disturbing idea of a man resorting to deliberately mutilating a woman just so that he can keep her company.
The movie protrays the total and all-consuming sexual obsession that drives an urbane, wealthy, good looking and successful surgeon (Julian Sands) into being a grovelling submissive who repeatedly tolerates being humiliated by a beautiful woman (Sherilynn Fenn). The surgeon is the proverbial man who has everything, including the socially appropriate nice girlfriend. But he is driven to insanity by the woman who is initially out of his reach.
At the heart of the narrative is a purportedly deep psychological compulsion. This is the re-creation with a romantic partner of an unhealthy relationship with a rejecting parent. The movie shows short vignettes of the surgeon as a lonely little boy being ignored by his beautiful and seductive mother whose attention he desperately craves.
Whatever its other shortcomings, the movie is refreshingly different from others of this genre in its portrayal of sexual expression.The acting, soft-focus camera work and sensually swelling background music mingle to create an almost other-worldly dimension of eroticism. This is a marked change from the crude, mechanistic and predictable depiction of impersonal sexuality of most R-rated movies. For this reason alone, "Boxing Helena" is worth viewing. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 07, 2004 | | Summary | A little of inside wind, a lot of atrocious acting | Content
| My best friend is a mad Lynch fanatic. As part of her completist attempts, she made me watch this movie despite it being made by a Lynchie offspring and not the main man himself. I'm a big fan of Sherilyn Fenn ever since her turn as Audrey in "Twin Peaks" and Julian Sands in "The Killing Fields." After laughing through most of the love interest sequence, the ridiculous attempt to mimic Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" fountain scene, the ludacrious wind that seems to monsoon the inside of Sherilyn's bedroom, I have to conclude that this was one of the worst movies ever written. I have to ask WHY exactly did the Enigma soundtrack was chosen? (...) history and Bill Paxton screaming hysterically in the last scene, there is no reason to watch this movie than for camp, high camp. |
|
