Boxing Helena
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Boxing Helena was the 1993 debut feature film by Jennifer Lynch, daughter of David Lynch. The film stars Sherilyn Fenn as the titular Helena and Julian Sands.
Nick Cavanaugh (Sands) is a surgeon who is obsessed with Helena (Fenn). After she is injured in a grievous hit-and-run motor vehicle accident in front of his home, he kidnaps and treats her in his house surreptiously, which includes amputating both of her legs. Later on, he mutilates her by amputating her arms as well.
Even though Helena is the victim of Nick's kidnapping and mutilation, she dominates the dialogue of the movie with her constant and emasculating ridicule of him for all of his shortcomings.
Critical reaction
Critically mauled on its release for its ludicrous premise, poor script and worse acting, the film has since developed something of a cult following (largely for the same reasons). It is also remembered for the legal battle that ensued when original star Kim Basinger backed out, and was eventually charged $8,000,000 in damages. Detractors of the film have called this "the best eight million dollars Basinger ever spent".
External links
- Boxing Helena (http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:121285) at All Movie Guide
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- Boxing Helena, A Film Review (http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/b/boxing.html) by James Berardinelli
- Boxing Helena, reviewed (http://www.jabootu.com/boxinghelena.htm) by Jason MacIsaac, for JabootuTemplate:Film-stub