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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Boxing Helena (1993)

Not many drama films have experimented with fetishism and fancy in a reasonably insightful, non-erotic manner. Boxing Helena is one that does. It shows the obsessive fancy of a dependent surgeon Nick Cavanaugh (Julian Sands) to an attractive but domineering young woman Helena (Sherilyn Fenn). He can’t possess her until she is run over by a car and her limbs are amputated by Nick, privately within his house where she then lives as a worshipped prisoner.

Sherilyn Fenn, as Wikipedia tells, filled in the lead spot left void by Kim Basinger (who faced a law suit for contract breach over it). Replaying her seductive (but not girly) charm from Twin Peaks, Fenn as Helena makes the character live. Bill Paxton sees to the humor—and style —and Julian Sands has done justice to his somewhat overdone character. 

Boxing Helena is interesting and will hold attention of viewers who like the themes of obsession, fetishism, and the psychological impact of unbalanced relationships.