Boxing Helena is a 1993 American Avant-garde thriller film directed by Jennifer Lynch and starring Sherilyn Fenn, Julian Sands, and Bill Paxton. Before its release, the film's production was hampered by legal battles with Madonna and Kim Basinger, who both backed out of playing Helena. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1993, where it was received poorly. After receiving an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, the film was given an R rating on appeal and released in the United States in September 1993. It was a critical and financial failure.

Plot

Nick Cavanaugh, an Atlanta surgeon, begins moving into his recently deceased mother's lavish home with his girlfriend, Anne. However, he remains fixated on his neighbor Helena — a beautiful but shrewish woman with whom he had one intimate experience — although she harbors disdain for him. Nick and Anne host a housewarming party and Nick invites Helena, who leaves early with Nick's friend Russell much to his dismay. Anne leaves Nick after realizing his obsession with Helena. Helena forgets her address book at Nick's house and reluctantly agrees to return the next day to retrieve it.