One of the biggest surprises of 1994 was "Heavenly Creatures". It was a disturbing film based upon New Zealand's most famous murder, committed by two teenaged girls who had developed an obsessively close friendship, and wanted to avoid separation.
With its rich cinematography, well-developed supporting characters, dramatic fantasy sequences, and intense performances from its young leads, "Heavenly Creatures" ranks among the best 'true crime' films of the 1990s. Although it isn't the best film shot in New Zealand during the 1990s, as that honor likely goes to Jane Campion's "The Piano".
In 1952, Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet) meet as students at a boarding school. They become very close friends: they share an obsession for booming, mawkish opera singer Mario Lanza (played by Stephen Reilly in dream sequences), and also share rebellion against their meddlesome parents and their unremarkable, conformist surroundings. They retreat into a fantasy world together, based upon mutual writings about the fictional royalty of Borovia. They also seem to have developed a lesbian relationship, considered to be a mental illness by their conservative parents. The parents decide it would be in the girls' best interest to be separated, but the teenagers have darker plans of their own.
Lynskey and Winslet make their film debuts here. Winslet, of course, went on to stardom with "Sense and Sensibility" and "Titanic". Lynskey gives the better performance, but perhaps her character's brooding hatred plays better than Winslet's manic superiority.
Pauline's has a frumpy, hard working mother (Sarah Peirse) and a more easygoing father (Simon O'Connor). Juliet's upper crust parents include a mild-mannered college professor (Clive Merrison) and a free spirited guidance counselor (Diana Kent).
After spending five years in prison, Juliet would find modest fame as an author of mystery novels, under the pen name Anne Perry.
Born on Halloween, New Zealand director Peter Jackson was previously best known for making bizarre horror films ("Brain Dead", "Bad Taste"). While far more conventional than his past work, "Heavenly Creatures" has both bizarre and horror moments. Bizarre best describes the several fantasy sequences, which sometimes have the girls dancing with life-sized clay models of the characters from their fictional world. Horror is represented in the murder scene, which is tense, bloody and graphic. But violent murder is an ugly crime, and it should be represented that way.
Jackson co-wrote the script with frequent collaborator Frances Walsh. It would be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. However, the diary excerpts were taken verbatim from their source. Jackson has a cameo in the film: he is the bum kissed by Winslet after she leaves the theater. (80/100)
Thrilling and provocative, Heavenly Creatures is the highly acclaimed, true-life story of the shocking crime that stunned a nation! When circumstances...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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