Jennifer Lynch

Curious if ‘Lynch jr.’s debut is as bad as everybody says, I set out to find “Boxing Helena”. Funny that just as with the Cronenbergs, also the Lynches exchange actresses. Helena from the title is a very nice part of Sherilyn Fenn and her role is something of an extension of her role as Audrey Horne in Twin Peaks. Again Fenn is a beautiful and overly self-confident woman winding men around her finger. As the successfull surgeon Nick Cavanaugh moves back to his home village, his obsession with Helena reemerges. Cavanaugh is played by Julian Sands and Sands is absolutely horrible. He is more like an adolescent and he is completely annoying. Were is not for Fenn, the film should definately get the 4,2 that is has on IMdB. Overall the film is not that bad. Cavanaugh’s obsession goes to extremes when he gets the change to get Helena into his house and this develops nicely, but then comes a terrible end. Indeed, “Boxing Helena” is not a good film. It is not terrible either, but Lynch certainly missed a couple of opportunities to make the film a lot better.

Jennifer Chambers Lynch is indeed the daughter of David Lynch who not only produced this film, but whose music can also be heard in the opening and closing titles. It is not really fair to compare the debut of Lynch junior to her fathers work, but I suppose it might take a few films before that stops, just as with Sophia Coppola. In any case, stylistically Jennifer leans a bit towards her father. Sharp images, an eye for details and a dark soundtrack form the similarities, but for the rest Jennifer associates with the modern Hollywood films: violent and with a story with a changing plot. The first part of the film is really good. Two FBI agents (that is the second time in one weekend that I see Bill Pullman as a policeman) travel to a remote village to investigate a series of brutal murders. Instead of a serial killer manhunt, Lynch focusses on the process of unraveling the story through witness hearings which worked out very well. Then the plot turns 180 degrees, the story loses credibility and the film turns into bloody, but not too functional mayhem supposedly making a surprise blowout. That is too bad, since in the first part of the film Lynch proves herself a descent director able to set a good atmosphere with minimal resources. Too bad she wanted to give the story a surprising twist…