Boxing Helena
Posted By: Ms. Sinclair July 20th, 2019
Director: Jennifer Lynch
Starring: Julian Sands, Sherilyn Fenn
Year: 1993
Country: United States
Weird Score: 7.5/10
It gets weird when: There are so many weird moments to choose from in this 90s’ gem; stalking, obsession, cheesy softcore sex scenes, a box, Helena, her limbs etc. But I’m going to have to go with Bill Paxton showing up in the tightest pair of leather pants I have ever seen.
My journey to watching Boxing Helena brings me back to my days working at Hey Lucy Martini Bar in Downtown Toronto. The head chef was an avid film collector and each shift he would tell me about a movie I had yet to see. This particular chef will come up frequently in my blog as he was instrumental in my watching of many bizarre films. One day while I was slinging cheap martinis and contemplating my purpose in life, dear Chef suggested I watch a film by director Jennifer Lynch. As a fan of the consistently odd David Lynch, I was immediately excited to explore the work of his daughter. Curious to see if the apple fell far from the tree, I watched Chained (a film I will be sure to discuss in the near future), Surveillance, and a controversial movie that garnered mixed reviews and expensive lawsuits – called Boxing Helena.
Julian Sands stars as Dr. Nick Cavanaugh, a surgeon with major mommy issues obsessed with a woman he had a previous affair with, named Helena, played by Sherilyn Fenn. This leads to creepy stalking scenes where Nick watches Helena with other men through her very open – and not at all private – window. The sex scenes are straight out of the Cinemax channel featuring flowing curtains, wind blown hair, and rooms decorated with an unnecessary amount of candelabras. Sadly, Helena has no time for Nick anymore and declines his constant attempts at reconciliation. Not willing to give up on love, Nick continues his pursuit of the enchanting Helena doing whatever he deems necessary. When a car accident occurs, Helena is put in a compromising position leaving her at Nick’s mercy. Nick takes full advantage of the situation and goes full Kathy Bates, in Misery, only using a more precise surgical approach.
Despite the obvious high cheese factor in this film, the power dynamic between Nick and Helena is very intriguing and never manages to be one-sided, keeping you interested in both of the characters from a psychological perspective. There are some exciting twists and turns in the film that also features Art Garfunkel with the most elaborate horseshoe haircut you never thought was possible. If you are ever in the mood for some good melodramatic fun, give Boxing a Helena a watch. It is sure to make you look back on your previous relationships and breathe a sigh of relief that no matter how dramatic it was, I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as what Nick does in the film. So don’t worry, you’re doing alright.
It will get weird if you talk about this movie at: a surgical consultation and you have recently broken up with said surgeon, speed dating and this movie is what you spend your one minute talking about, a lunch date with Kim Basinger ( if you are curious about her connection to this film make sure to give it a google I can’t do all the work for you, you slackers).
