Boxing Helena

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{{Infobox Film

 | name     = Boxing Helena
 | image    = Boxing Helena DVD cover.jpg
 | caption  = DVD cover for Boxing Helena
 | director = Jennifer Lynch		
 | producer = Philippe Caland
 | writer   = Philippe Caland (story)
Jennifer Lynch
 | starring = Sherilyn Fenn
Julian Sands
Bill Paxton
Kurtwood Smith
Art Garfunkel
 | music    = Graeme Revell
 | cinematography = Bojan Bazelli
Frank Byers
 | editing  = David Finfer
 | distributor = Orion Pictures 
 | released = September 3 1993
 | runtime  = 107 min
 | language = English 
 | budget   = 
 | imdb_id  = 0106471

}}

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.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Nick Cavanaugh (Sands) is a lonely Atlanta 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 surreptitiously, 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.

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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 slapped with a jury verdict for $8,135,216.05. Detractors of the film have called this "the best eight million dollars Basinger ever spent", although the verdict was set aside on appeal in 1994.

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