Boxing Helena - what would you do if you'd let your subconscious run wild
The movie was definitely controversial even before its release due to the scandalous law suit between the studios and Kim Basinger who got cold feet and refused to film the movie.
It had extreme bad reviews after its release, despite its nomination for Grand Jury Prize at 1993 Sundance Festival.
What critics and viewers failed to truly understand is the influence David Lynch had upon his daughter, Jennifer Chamber Lynch, 'Boxing Helena' director.
We all know David Lynch as the man behind 'Blue Velvet' and 'Twin Peaks'
Twin Peaks is a cult TV series from the 90’s. The twisted mind of David Lynch mixed with the great talent of Kyle MacLachlan, the unmistakable features and great performances of Sherilyn Fenn, Lara Flynn Boyle and Mädchen Amick and the surreal soundtrack made a perfect recipe that kept us glued to the TV each and every single week.
Lynch' talent and preference for unusual movies went beyond Twin Peaks and his daughter, Jennifer Lynch even at a very young age was influenced by him. She grew up on the movie sets, so this was to be expected.
Jennifer is the mind behind 'The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer' which she wrote upon his father's request when she was 21.
Jennifer wrote the script for 'Boxing Helena'when she was 19 years old.
'The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer' was highly praised while 'Boxing Helena' didn't have the same success even if both had a high level of disturbing material inside. The only difference was that 'Boxing Helena' was made into a movie and did not have behind a huge cult like Twin Peaks.
The movie was not her idea, it came from the producer Philippe Caland who needed a woman to write it down and this is where Jennifer went in, bringing in her own demons, fears and frustrations.
We must understand where Jennifer is coming from to really understand the movie. She was born with terrible club feet and she was never able to crawl as a baby, just to scoot due to the bars on her legs. Her Grandmother owned a Venus from Milo replica, and Jennifer would be sat near that. In time she became obsessed with the way people were looking at Venus from Milo and just saw her as beautiful, never broken. This obsession on top of the car accident that left her bedridden for several months, questioning if she will ever walk again, her awkward teenage years made her in reality as the female version of Nick Cavanaugh's character in the movie.
What people failed to see was that she tried to make a fairy tale movie. Nick Cavanaugh is the wallflower Prince Charming and Helena is the nightmare Snow White.
Helena, from the start till the end is in control. The movie is a metaphor, with subtle hints along the way.
It shows us a very successful surgeon, Nick Cavanaugh having a perfect career, a lovely girlfriend and an insane obsession with Helena, a woman living next door to his mother's house with whom he had a one night stand. His obsession may seem excessive if we ignore the way Helena looks like.
She is the picture of raw sexuality, extremely beautiful, sexy, confident, everything Nick is not.
He is awkward, a clear result of a cold distant father and a Playboy bunny lookalike mother who loved her male companions more than she ever loved her child. He does not do well with women and lacks the minimum of confidence around them. Hence Helena's attitude towards him.
She loves rough, confident men, and this is where Ray comes along, perfectly played by Bill Paxton. All muscles, not a lot of brain. And she still manages to push him around.
When Nick's mother dies and leaves him the house, he moves in and gets to see Helena again. He throws a party, just so she can join. He does everything to have her around him and when she gets into a car crash in front of his house and gets both of her feet broken, he takes her in and operates her inside his house, cutting both of her legs.
Her reaction, when she wakes up, is understandable, she is lividly furious and tries to hurt him every chance she gets. This is how she ends up with her arms also amputated, after she tries to strangle him.He sets up the whole house as her sanctuary, puts her on a pedestal, surrounds her with fresh cut flowers, cooks for her and takes care of her every need. He wants to have her around since she is in fact his whole world. He gives up his job and his life to be there for her from the first second and slowly she realizes how her life can be without him and how much she needs him now.
This is the whole idea behind the movie: how far you can go to have the woman you love just for you? Pretty far I would say.
Even if Nick's subconscious mind is willing to go to the extremes, deep inside he knows what he does is wrong.
The dream, because this is what putting Helena in a box turns out to be, is a reality check, is a glimpse into what a future close to Helena may be. Does he really want that?
Both of them change after the accident. He gets to see where his obsession will lead him and Helena gets to see a more powerful and protective side of Nick.
The movie is artistically made, the music carefully chosen, the sets perfectly sets and the actors, could not be more perfect for the role.
You could not expect more from Sherilyn Fenn. She did her part, leaving a very powerful impression upon everyone who watches the movie. Her scene in the water fountain is iconic.
Julian Sands added after his roles as Franz Liszt, Shelley and Warlock, another one that could show us how versatile he is. One of my favorite actors of all time.
'Boxing Helena' is not a movie for everyone but it is definitely a movie that it is quite impossible to forget.
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