Chambers Lynch BOXING Helena presents us with a puzzle. Jennifer Chambers Lynch, in her first film as a director, shows an extremely sinister side to the fetish of female dependency.
But can a film explore misogynist male fantasies without itself being pornographic and misogynist?
Nick (Julian Sands) is a doctor obsessed with Helena (Sherilyn Fenn), a one night nothing to do with him. Since Helena maintains that she does not want him, Nick amputates first her legs and then least need him.
Helena appears to be largely untraumatised by this horrific turn of events, continuing to be as scornful of Nick as ever before finally having Just and love aroused in her.
An account of the plot so far may lead many to judge the film as sack and cych por nographic. After all we are being asked to believe that a woman could be horribly mutilated and then come to love and desire ber attacker.
But the twist in this film is a kick in the teeth to all those who might forcE in the vio lence done to Helena.
Fantasy
The mutilation scenario is entirely Nick's sexualized revenge fantasy. This film is an indictment of a mentality which prefers passivity, where rejection is a legitimate grievance, and which ultimately wishes to immobilise a woman in order to possess her.
The audience is unable to shy away from the horror of Nick's imagined actions in the most poignant passage of the film.
A genuinely erotic scene in which Nick is offered the opportunity to love Helena on her terms and whole, rather than possess her on his terms and mutilated, demonstrates the gravity of her loss more powerfully than any blood and gore cliche.
Jennifer Chambers Lynch, who has had repeated surgery as a result of being bom with club feet, also uses the film to explore the relationship of personality to the body, ideas about ocauty and physical per fection, and insists on the sexual existence of somebody deemed physically destroyed or deformed.
Boxing Helena is let down by the almost comically bad script in the first half, the poor performances of Julian Sands and some lapses into crass pop psychology.
However, few first time diroctors ocauns, with suca com plex themes would produce an entirely successful film.
Let's hope that harsh criticism and accusations that the film is pornographic don't prevent Lynch and other directors from continuing to explore the sometimes unpleasant subject of male sexuality.