Boxing Helena

Infamous for provoking a feminist controversy and a lawsuit (Kim Basinger was sued for backing out of the lead role), the directorial debut of Jennifer Lynch is a fudged allegorical fantasy about aberrant human behaviour and sexual complexes. Sick surgeon Julian Sands falls in love with local slut Sherilyn Fenn and, after she has a car accident, removes her legs and arms to keep her captive on a pedestal. This is by turns macabre and silly - Lynch is clearly aiming for the surreal atmosphere of her director father David's work, but fails to capture it. Fenn is great as the chastised bitch but Sands's performance is too superficial to properly evoke the dark side of his character's subconscious.