Customer Reviews

Boxing Helena [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is a hard movie to defend, so most of the time I don't even bother to try. I really won't even try now, but just say that I really like this movie and I'm not sure why. It's reputation as a lousy film is almost legendary. Of course when you consider Michael Bay's filmography, you might want to re-evaluate this movie, or maybe not.
Julian Sands(an actor I love) is a rich surgeon obsessed with a woman he had a one nighter with. The woman, Helena, is played by Sherilyn Fenn, so it's easy to understand his obsession. However, Helena is a crass, mean, all around unpleasant woman who's on the search solely for boytoys. Julian's attempts to lure her in result in her being hit by a car. He now has the perfect opportunity to posses her as he brings her back to his home and begins a process of dismembering her. Julian quits his job and cuts off communication with his friends, even dumping his girlfriend so he can take care of Helena. She throws endless insults at him, screams at him, belittles him, and it makes you wonder just what it is that he's so in love with. Psychological games are played out between the two, and soon some sex is thrown into the mix(Sands brings home one of his tasty looking nurses and makes Helena watch him have sex with her to everybody's favorite Enigma song, Sadness Part 1). Meanwhile, Helena's sortaboyfriend, Bill Paxton, is trying to find out what happened to her. Now, this plot may sound kinda grim and gruesome, but it really isn't quite as demented as you'd think. I don't know why, but the movie sort of reminds me of one of those softcore Skinemax type movies even though there isn't much sex in it. Sands gives a decent performance, but his character is such a pathetic, whiny, lovestruck schmuck that you just wish you could reach into the tv and smack him one. As usual, Fenn will make your eyes bug out like something from a Looney Tunes cartoon. Yummy!! Apparently Madonna was originally supposed to have this role, and then the role went to Kim Basinger after Madonna dropped out. Personally I'm glad neither of them got it coz Fenn's my baby.
So no, I can't honestly recommend this movie to people coz the numbers say you might not care much for this one. I'm just here to tell you that I like it. So there.

As you can probably tell, I love this movie. All the negative reviews, goodness! Did you not get the point of the film? Maybe you need to watch again & this time, with an open mind. I don't want to spoil it for those that haven't seen it. I know quite a few reviews already spoiled it but just watch it for yourself. Obsessive love at its most unrelenting, or is it?

The more people say they hate this movie, the more I love it.
But I must warn you, this is not the uncut version or even the director's cut. To get that you need to find the Laserdisc collection that came with commentary, extra "dirty" scenes(which are great btw) and the package-only 24KT musical score by the wonderful Graeme Revell. I really loved the music composed for this film, and it's terrible that this is the only way you can obtain this great score. The commentary is quite insightful, J Sands pops in for a bit to chat about it with Jennifer. For her 1st film, I thought Jennifer did a superb job handling everything from the actors, to the lush sets, editing, etc. Fenn, Paxton and Sands are all in prime form here, I really couldn't ask for anything more!!
Enjoy, and scream for "HELENNA!!"
DMSR

Is it wrong to love Julian Sands because he's beautiful? Worse, is it wrong to love him when he's being evil at the same time?

If it is, then I have received ample punishment in watching this.

Boxing Helena is a movie that desperately wants to be a dark, edgy,arty comment on obsessive love. Not just that, it makes weak use of the themes of how beauty is defined, the power struggle between the sexes and how women are regarded in relation to sex.

This is what we know of Nick Cavanaugh - he is a spineless, whiny, slightly hypochondriacal(the roots of which are never really explained)yet wealthy and successful surgeon with Mommy issues. Aside from a few flashbacks, there's really no explanation why this has translated into such an overpowering lust and obsession with Helena in particular.

We know even less about Helena, and it becomes a slight to a story that appears to want to make a statement on how beautiful and strong willed women (read: bitchy and evil)are punished for behaving exactly as a man would. Her character is not even considered worthy enough to be more than totally one dimensional.

So we have Nick, sexually obsessed and hopelessly infatuated with a woman who will have nothing to do with him; a woman he can only truly love and control by making her powerless-a real life Venus. And Helena, beautiful and cruel, a woman who doesn't really love until she has some of what made her a woman taken from her.

I cringe at the thought that some of the people watching this thought they were finding a "message" somewhere in this mess.

Had this movie been well written it probably would have been insightful and disturbing. But it fails on so many levels that it ends up just being boring. With the ending being what it was, it seems like the director and writer realized this too.

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.

Everyone I've recommended this movie to LOVED IT. It's dark, erotic, weird and visually stylish. This movie made me a fan of Julian Sands, Sherilyn Fenn and the writer/director, Jennifer Lynch. This is certainly not your usual boy-meets-girl love story, but it's a real cult gem.

Jennifer Chambers Lynch got alot of criticism for this movie.Perhaps because many held her up in high regard since her father David Lynch created the series Twin Peaks.However,it should be noted that she was only 19 years old when she did this movie! In my opinion,quite impressive vision for someone her age.Unfortunately she has not done anything since.
This movie has beautiful backgrounds and scenery throughout and some very sensual music from Graeme Revell and Enigma. Many reviews state that the characters just aren't likeable,but to me, that is the whole point. I liked the realness of these characters, that's not sugar coated like in many other movies. You see them being awkward and insecure, and hateful and neurotic.The true dark side of human obsession and lust.

The story is about Dr. Nick Cavanah,who although is an excellent surgeon and quite wealthy,has some hang ups with women...Early on we learn he has a very odd fascination with his mother,whom from what I can tell is bit of a slut.She dies and he becomes obsessed with a woman who shares similar qualities to her~The beautiful,but bitchy and shallow Helena.After sleeping with him one time,Helena discards him.While Nick currently has a girlfriend,Ann,he cannot get Helena out of mind and frequently stalks her apartment and peers in her windows.
He sends her flowers and devises a plan to get her to visit his home by throwing a huge party at his mansion.
(once his mother's home)
Helena attends the party,but ignores Nick and flirts with his friend Russell. Her and Russell decide to leave together as Nick is left pining for Helena.
Helena has left her purse at Nick's house and phones for it.She needs her address book because she is planning on going to Mexico.Nick meets up with her and has her come back to his place claiming he cant find it.Apparently Nick had the address book the whole time and angry Helena storms out only to be hit by a truck that looks as though it snaps her leg in half and keeps on driving.
Now Nick has Helena exactly where he wants her.He's a surgeon,and instead of taking her to the hospital,it looks as though Nick has taken it apon himself to operate on Helena in his mansion.Removing not just the one,but both legs!
Helena hates him for this and doesn't let him forget it by constantly yelling at him and degrading him verbally in any way she can.
And although Nick appears to think of Helena as some kind of trophy he now owns,he doesn't stop trying to prove his love to her.He waits on her hand and foot,picks her fresh flowers,brushes her hair,feeds her and reads to her.
We start to think perhaps they may fall in love,but then there is a twist and things are not how they seem...

If you're one of those people who only goes to see Box office smashes or likes movies to be completely concrete,this is not a movie for you. However,if you find yourself intrigued by cult classics and have an open mind,you may find this film to be a sinful pleasure.
This movie did not get good reviews,and does have some bad acting.Yet to me it is wonderfully different and refreshing.
I tend to like movies that push the edge~cult classics that dare to be different.If you are one of these people,this is the movie might be for you! If not,you will be highly disappointed it doesn't have the commercial appeal as most movies today do.

I agree with the many reviewers that said this movie was very poorly scripted with a barely believable plot. However, it was like a train wreck: you can't look away, especially when Sherilyn Fenn begins to lose a limb every other scene. Just bizarre! Julian Sands' acting left a lot to be desired, although it may just have been the script. Sherilyn Fenn, who plays Helena is absolutely beautiful and did an okay job, considering that her character didn't have much dialogue, other than to scream at Julian's character, Nick, every 5 seconds on "You make me sick! I hate you! You did this to me!"
All in all, it's not a great movie and would never be up for any kind of award, but if you're looking for an unpredictable and dark movie, this one will fit the bill.

Okay. As a huge David Lynch fan (I gather like many folks who went to see the film), I thought I have a look at his daughter's film debut (and only film to date? I wonder why) to see what all the fuss was about. I remember the film when it was in theaters a decade ago. I also recalled the whole controversy over Kim Basinger's departure from the project.

Seeing the DVD on the shelf in my favorite video store, I decided to give it a chance. Well, I have to say I don't see what the big hoopla was all about. The film played like a pumped up B movie potboiler melodrama and/or parody of one. Because Jennifer Chambers Lynch couldn't decide on the "tone" of the film, we are left to guess what her intentions were. I agree with other reviewers that the camerawork is extremely pretentious in a bad way and the script leaves much to be desired.

Dr. Nick Cavanagh (Julian Sands) is obsessed with the very chilly and cruel Helena (Sherilyn Fenn) after having a one night stand with her awhile back. She loathes him and wants nothing to do with him. His equally chilly and cruel mom has just passed away and left him the palatial family estate. He moves in and things go downhill for him from there.

I think if this film had been released under more subtle circumstances such as the work of a first-time filmmaker and been thought of as an experimental indie instead of commercial studio fare by the daughter of David Lynch, it would have been received more positively. The controversy may have generated audience interest in the film initially but it certainly didn't sustain it. I would argue it actually hurt the film's reception in general.

I like the idea of exploring the nature of a man's sexual obsession and his enslavement to it but like many others, I don't buy into "Boxing Helena" premise. Set mainly in this mansion of sorts, Cavanagh is Dr. Frankenstein and Helena is his "creation." Is his idealized woman one without arms and legs? Is beauty just skin deep? We never get a sense of "why" Nick is obsessed with her. He has a seemingly understanding girlfriend - why Helena over her. Additionally, Fenn's character of Helena is so underdeveloped and one-dimensional. She does okay in the part nevertheless. Sands' Nick is also at a loss as well. I'm thinking a derivative of a Norman Bates for the 1990s. With all his mother issues, you would think an intelligent man would seek a shrink asap. At least, his colleagues at the hospital should have noticed the doctor's odd behavior and institutionalized him on the spot. Poor Julian Sands - he is not a bad actor but seems to be stuck in some bad movie projects. Also, why is Art Garfunkel in this film!?!? Bill Paxton has a supporting role as Helena's studly, wannabe rocker/musician (?) boyfriend but he is also underutilized in the film except for acting out the macho man that Nick isn't apparently.

Also, one thing I did find hilarious are the extra-textual references to Sands' earlier film, Merchant-Ivory's A Room with a View (1986)in which he played the enigmatic hero George Emerson who romances and wins the young heroine Lucy Honeychurch, played by actress Helena Bonham-Carter! If you watch the film, pay attention to the soundtrack and dialogue.
Is Lynch taking a stab at Merchant-Ivory's polite notion of love's passions? Maybe and may not since there isn't any guiding focus to the film.

Though highly flawed, you may want to have a look and have fun playing the critic.

"Boxing Helena" is directed by the daughter of David Lynch, Jennifer Chambers Lynch. This is the only reason I wanted to see this movie. I always get curious when the offspring of a filmmaker decides to follow in their parents footsteps, but when it's the offspring of one of my favorite directors...That only makes it more interesting. And "Boxing Helena" is an interesting movie, very much in the vein of a David Lynch film. This film deals with dreams, sexual obsession, and a whole jubilee of weirdness. Watching the film, it amazed me that a woman wrote it. This film feels like it's written by a man, which I'll explain in a moment. The movie is about a doctor named Nick Cavanaugh (Julian Sands), who clearly has a few screws loose. He's got a beautiful girlfriend and, after the death of his mother, a mansion. But there's one thing he doesn't have and that is Helena (Sherilyn Fenn, 'Of Mice & Men'). Nick harbors a full-on obsession for Helena, a woman he had a one-night stand with and can't stop thinking about. He even climbs the tree outside her window to spy into her room. Warned by a fellow doctor/friend (Art Garfunkel) not to mess with her, Nick invites her to a party only to have his ego crushed when she leaves with another man. Fate steps in, however, when she leaves her purse at the party and Nick creates circumstances that cause her to come to his house and get it. While leaving his house, Helena is hit by a car and Nick is forced to perform emergency surgery to save her. He amputates her legs. Now Helena, legless and helpless, is trapped in Nick's house (think of it as "Misery" in reverse). Besides not letting her go and amputating her body parts, Nick doesn't harm her. The man loves Helena and doesn't want to hurt her, but simply wants her to have feelings for him too. What it is he sees in Helena isn't really made obvious. Besides beauty, there's not much going for her. She's rude, narcissistic, and cold. Anyway, the remainder of the film consists of Nick trying to keep Helena for himself while her boyfriend Ray (Bill Paxton, doing some of the worst acting he's ever done) looks for her. The ending is contrived and too reminiscent of earlier and later David Lynch films. The films weakness is both the ending and Paxton and the director's decision to use soft-core porn music for her score. There are also a few scenes that look like outtakes from "Wild Orchid." Meanwhile, you have Bill Paxton acting like he had never done so. His facial expressions and the way he recites his dialogue in this film is bad. I don't know if you can call it overacting, but it's definitely bad acting. Other than that, the acting is solid. Sands is a good casting choice, because he really portrays how pathetic and lonely this character is. Fenn is good too, making the character easy to hate without making us hate her too much. My only other complaint is the DVD. No subtitles and the audio track is less than spectacular. There's a lot of whispering in the movie (a lot of yelling, though, too) and subtitles would've been nice. Since this is the only film Lynch has directed, it's hard to say what she could accomplish if she made more movies. But this film shows her as a promising young talent, whose biggest mistake was drawing a little too much inspiration from daddy.

GRADE: B