View source for Boxing Helena

{{Short description|1993 US mystery thriller-horror film by Jennifer Lynch}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Boxing Helena
| image = FennBoxingHelena.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Jennifer Lynch|Jennifer Chambers Lynch]]
| producer = {{Plainlist|
* Philippe Caland
* Carl Mazzocone
}}
| screenplay = Jennifer Chambers Lynch
| story = Philippe Caland
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Julian Sands]]
* [[Sherilyn Fenn]]
* [[Bill Paxton]]
* [[Art Garfunkel]]
* Betsy Clark
* [[Kurtwood Smith]]}}
| music = [[Graeme Revell]]
| cinematography = {{Plainlist|
* [[Bojan Bazelli]]
* Frank Byers
}}
| editing = [[David Finfer]]
| studio = Main Line Pictures
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
* [[Orion Classics]] (North America)
* [[Republic Pictures]] (International)<ref>{{cite web|title=Boxing Helena (1993)|website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|access-date=4 May 2023|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59474-BOXING-HELENA?sid=689a9ce6-b0bf-41ab-9bd1-5732de70e49d&sr=11.6700115&cp=1&pos=0}}</ref><ref name=nyt/>
}}
| released = {{Film date|1993|09|03}}
| runtime = 105 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 104:59--><ref>{{cite web | url=http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/boxing-helena-1970-0 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224212206/http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/boxing-helena-1970-0 | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 24, 2016 | title=''BOXING HELENA'' (18) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=April 2, 1993 | access-date=February 16, 2016}}</ref>
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = 
| gross = $1.8 million<ref name=mojo/>
}}
'''''Boxing Helena''''' is a 1993 American [[avant-garde]] [[Thriller film|thriller]] film directed by [[Jennifer Lynch]] and starring [[Sherilyn Fenn]], [[Julian Sands]], and [[Bill Paxton]].<ref>{{cite news|title= 'Boxing Helena' Director's Debut Plunges Her Into Gender Wars|work=Orlando Sentinel|url= https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1993/09/04/boxing-helena-directors-debut-plunges-her-into-gender-wars/|access-date=October 24, 2010}}</ref><ref name="latimes">{{cite news |last1=Weinstein |first1=Steve |title=Shadow Boxing : 'Helena' director fears that with the heavily publicized baggage about Madonna and Kim Basinger accompanying the film, practically no one will see without prejudice the movie she, David Lynch's daughter, made |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-08-29-ca-29280-story.html |access-date=22 December 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=29 August 1993 |quote=The film was poorly received when it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last January, and in England}}</ref> Before its release, the film's production was hampered by legal battles with [[Madonna (entertainer)|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 nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Feature.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Larman |first=Alexander |date=2023-07-02 |title=Inside Boxing Helena, the macabre misfire that delighted Julian Sands – and broke Kim Basinger |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/boxing-helena-julian-sands-sherilyn-fenn-jennifer-lynch/ |access-date=2025-09-27 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> 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.<ref name="latimes" />

==Plot==
Nick Cavanaugh, an [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] surgeon, begins moving into his recently deceased mother's lavish home with his girlfriend, Anne. However, he remains fixated on his neighbor 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 Nick's friend Russell much to his dismay. Anne leaves Nick after realizing his obsession with Helena. Helena leaves her address book at Nick's house and reluctantly agrees to return the next day to retrieve it.

After Helena suffers a [[Gustilo open fracture classification|high-grade tibial fracture]] in a [[hit-and-run]] accident 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. Later, following her attempt to choke him, Nick goes even further by amputating her arms above the elbow as a means of keeping her under his control. 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 that ends with Ray threatening to shoot Nick with a pistol. Although Ray leaves after pleas from Helena, Nick is crushed by a falling [[Venus de Milo|Venus statue]].

However, it is revealed that Nick's kidnapping of Helena is a vivid [[nap]]ping dream that Nick is having while waiting at the hospital for Helena to recover from [[emergency surgery]]. In reality, he had called the [[ambulance]] and sought proper medical help for her after the accident.

Later at home in bed with Anne, Nick wakes from a [[nightmare]], still haunted by his love for Helena.

==Cast==
* [[Sherilyn Fenn]] as Helena<ref>{{cite news|title= Boxing Helena Rated NC-17|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=January 14, 1993|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-14-ca-1663-story.html|access-date=October 24, 2010|first=David J.|last=Fox}}</ref>
* [[Julian Sands]] as Nick Cavanaugh
* [[Bill Paxton]] as Ray O'Malley
* [[Kurtwood Smith]] as Alan Palmer
* [[Art Garfunkel]] as Lawrence Augustine
* Betsy Clark as Anne Garrett
* Nicolette Scorsese as Fantasy Lover/Nurse
* Meg Register as Marion Cavanaugh
* Bryan Smith as Russell
* Marla Levine as Patricia
* Kim Lentz as Nurse Diane
* Lloyd T. Williams as Sam the Clerk

==Production==
Producer Philippe Caland came up with the idea, but wanted a woman to write it, and so approached Lynch after she gave a poetry reading.<ref name="Vice">{{cite web|last1=Webber|first1=Jason|title=More Than David's Daughter: An Interview with Jennifer Lynch|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/more-than-davids-daughter-an-interview-with-jennifer-lynch/|website=Vice|date=September 25, 2012 |access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref> At first, Lynch declined to get involved, reportedly telling him "Well, that sounds kind of terrible."<ref name="Vice"/> But Caland was eventually able to convince her to work on it. In writing, Lynch was inspired by some elements from her own childhood, telling ''Vice'' that being born with [[club feet]], and her grandmother owning a ''[[Venus de Milo]]'' replica, influenced her insight into the characters:<ref name="Vice"/>

<blockquote>It always struck me the way people looked at the Venus. They didn't see her as broken, they saw her as beautiful. And it really made a huge impact on me. I thought I was broken and that maybe someday someone would find me beautiful. So this idea of a damaged boy who was in an obsessive situation who would try to recreate from his own view the one thing that didn't hit him or abandon him was this armless, beautiful woman. And therefore in a dream recreate this obsessive thing where we take from one another until we are the size and shape that we think the other person should be for us.<ref name="Vice"/></blockquote>

[[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] was slated to play Helena, but shortly before filming was to begin in January 1991 she dropped out, halting the production.<ref name="Insandout">{{cite news|last1=Thompson|first1=Anne|title=FILM; The Ins and Outs of 'Boxing Helena'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/05/movies/film-the-ins-and-outs-of-boxing-helena.html |website=The New York Times|date=July 5, 1992|access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref> The next month, in an attempt to salvage the film, Lynch met with [[Kim Basinger]] about playing Helena. Basinger agreed, but closer to the new filming date she began requesting what ''The New York Times'' called "major script revisions", which according to producer Mazzocone amounted to making Helena "less of a bitch". After the production failed to make the changes to Basinger's satisfaction she also quit the picture.<ref name="Insandout"/>

Legal battles involving both stars then ensued.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Unarmed And Dangerous: Jennifer Lynch loses Madonna, Basinger, gains Fenn for ''Boxing Helena'' |author=Jane Birnbaum |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=May 22, 1992 |url=https://ew.com/article/1992/05/22/boxing-helena-experiences-star-dropouts/ |access-date=November 1, 2010 |archive-date=April 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421055154/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,310562,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Eventually Basinger was the subject of an adverse jury verdict for over $8.1 million,<ref>{{cite news |title= Basinger Tells Court Why She Refused Script |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 9, 1993 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-03-09-me-896-story.html |access-date=October 24, 2010 |first=Robert W. |last=Welkos}}</ref> which bankrupted her. The verdict was set aside on appeal in 1994,<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Main Line Pictures, Inc. v. Basinger |vol= |reporter= |opinion=No. B077508 |court=[[California Courts of Appeal|2 Dist.]] |date=1994-09-22 |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ca-court-of-appeal/1852173.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Basinger Bankruptcy Puts Georgia Bank on the Block |agency= Bloomberg Business News |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 20, 1994 |url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/09/20/basinger-bankruptcy-puts-georgia-bank-on-the-block/|access-date=October 24, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Damages Against Kim Basinger in Film Suit Voided: Courts: Appellate justices find the judge gave ambiguous instructions to jury in 'Boxing Helena' case. Verdict of $8.1&nbsp;million threw film star into bankruptcy |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 23, 1994 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-23-me-42074-story.html |access-date=October 24, 2010 |first1=Judy |last1=Brennan |first2=Edward J. |last2=Boyer}}</ref> but Basinger later settled for $3.8 million.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://amarillo.com/stories/100997/kim.html |title=For Kim Basinger, the 'fire ball' is out – and Veronica Lake is in |access-date=November 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820201944/http://amarillo.com/stories/100997/kim.html |archive-date=August 20, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="latimes" />

Meanwhile, Fenn, who had previously worked with Lynch's father on ''[[Twin Peaks]]'', was cast as Helena in December 1991.<ref name="Insandout"/> By this time a third major star, [[Ed Harris]], had also backed out of the film due to the ever-increasing delays, telling ''The New York Times'', "I needed to get on with my life."<ref name="Insandout"/>

===Music===
The score heard during the scene where Helena showers in a fountain while a party crowd watches was originally composed by [[Graeme Revell]] and based on the "Love Theme" used sparsely elsewhere in the film, with vocals by Bobbi Page. At the producers' request, "The Fountain Song", written and performed by Wendy Levy, replaced Revell's score in the DVD and subsequent releases.

==Release==
''Boxing Helena'' premiered at the [[Sundance Film Festival]] in January 1993 and was theatrically released by [[Orion Classics]] in the United States on September 3, 1993, [[Entertainment Film Distributors]] in the United Kingdom on June 18, 1993, and [[Republic Pictures]] in other international territories.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/05/movies/film-the-ins-and-outs-of-boxing-helena.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm | work=The New York Times | first=Anne | last=Thompson | title=FILM; The Ins and Outs of 'Boxing Helena' | date=July 5, 1992}}</ref>

===Box office===
The film performed poorly at the box office,<ref>{{cite news |title= Labor Day Weekend Box Office : 'The Fugitive' Just Keeps on Running |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=September 8, 1993 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-08-ca-32679-story.html |access-date=October 24, 2010 |first=David J. |last=Fox}}</ref> grossing $1,796,389 in the domestic box office.<ref name=mojo>{{cite web | url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=boxinghelena.htm | title=Boxing Helena (1993) | work=[[Box Office Mojo]] | publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]] | access-date=February 16, 2016}}</ref>

==Reception==
The film received largely negative reviews from critics upon release and was widely considered to be of poor quality,<ref>{{cite news|title= Review/Film: Boxing Helena; A Kinky, Macabre Tale Of Erotic Fascination|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 3, 1993|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/03/movies/review-film-boxing-helena-a-kinky-macabre-tale-of-erotic-fascination.html?scp=2&sq=boxing%20helena&st=cse|access-date=October 24, 2010|first=Janet|last=Maslin}}</ref> despite garnering praise at Sundance. {{RT prose|{{RT data|score}}|{{RT data|average}}|{{RT data|count}}|A disturbing concept marred by graceless execution, ''Boxing Helena'' is a psychosexual drama that proves more tedious than provocative.}}<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boxing_helena/ | title=Boxing Helena | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | publisher=[[Fandango Media]] | access-date=November 1, 2022}}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|25|14|ref=yes|access-date=January 29, 2024}} However, at least two major film critics thought the film had been unjustly maligned. ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' critic [[Gene Siskel]] was one of the few positive notices, giving the film three out of four stars.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/boxing-helena | title=Boxing Helena reviews | work=[[Metacritic]] | publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] | access-date=February 16, 2016}}</ref> Also positive was [[Janet Maslin]], who wrote in the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' that "As it turns out, Ms. Lynch has both talent and a point. Her film is by no means the gory, exploitative quasi-pornography that it sounds like from afar."<ref>{{cite web|website=The New York Times|first=Janet|last=Maslin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/03/movies/review-film-boxing-helena-a-kinky-macabre-tale-of-erotic-fascination.html|title=Review/Film: Boxing Helena; A Kinky, Macabre Tale Of Erotic Fascination|date=September 3, 1993|accessdate=June 7, 2023}}</ref>

===Nominations and awards===
The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1993 [[Sundance Film Festival]].<ref name=":0" /> Lynch "won" a [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director]] at the [[14th Golden Raspberry Awards]] in 1994.

===In popular culture===
In their 1999 album ''[[Famous Monsters]]'', punk rock band [[Misfits (band)|The Misfits]] have a song titled "Helena", which features lyrics that align with many of the movies themes and plot points:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jr |first=James Greene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tx8dy6vPfDwC&dq=%22The+Misfits%22+Helena&pg=PA95 |title=This Music Leaves Stains: The Complete Story of the Misfits |date=2013-02-14 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |isbn=978-0-8108-8438-0 |pages=95–96 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Misfits – Helena | url=https://genius.com/Misfits-helena-lyrics }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=October 2025}}

{{Quote frame |quote=If I cut off your arms and cut off your legs,<br>Would you still love me anyway?<br>If you're bound and you're gagged, draped and displayed,<br>Would you still love me anyway? |author=The Misfits |title=Helena}}

==See also==
* [[List of American films of 1993]]
* [[Amputee fetishism]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0106471|Boxing Helena}}
* {{Mojo title|boxinghelena|Boxing Helena}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|boxing_helena|Boxing Helena}}
* {{Metacritic film|title=Boxing Helena}}
* [http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/b/boxing.html ''Boxing Helena'', A Film Review] by [[James Berardinelli]]

{{Jennifer Lynch}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boxing Helena}}
[[Category:1993 films]]
[[Category:1993 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1993 independent films]]
[[Category:1993 romantic drama films]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s mystery thriller films]]
[[Category:1990s erotic thriller films]]
[[Category:1990s romantic thriller films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:American erotic thriller films]]
[[Category:American mystery drama films]]
[[Category:American mystery thriller films]]
[[Category:American romantic drama films]]
[[Category:American romantic thriller films]]
[[Category:Films about amputees]]
[[Category:Films about dreams]]
[[Category:Films about kidnapping in the United States]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jennifer Chambers Lynch]]
[[Category:Films scored by Graeme Revell]]
[[Category:Films shot in Atlanta]]
[[Category:Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Golden Raspberry Award–winning films]]
[[Category:Orion Pictures films]]
[[Category:Republic Pictures films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language erotic thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic drama films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language mystery thriller films]]