Heavenly Creatures

Pros: Great performances from Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey, coupled with a compelling story and solid direction make this film one of the best of the 90's.
Cons: Jackson shortchanges us at the climax by using onscreen cards to tell us of the story's aftermath

Heavenly Creatures: WingNut Films/ Miramax Films
Rating: USA: R/ UK: 18/ Australia: M

By the end of 1992, New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson stood at something of a career crossroads. He’d already helmed three feature...

Pros: Lynskey & Winslet
Cons: .........

Based on the real life account of the murder of Honorah Parker in 1954, Heavenly Creatures is a bizarre little look into the fantasy and reality of Pauline and Juliet, school friends. Juliet, from a good family, extremely rich, has traveled all ...

Pros: Wonderful performances, excellent plot, moving.
Cons: A few gratuitious, unnecessary scenes.

When I sat down to watch the film, Heavenly Creatures, I did not know what I was getting myself into, and neither should you. I knew nothing about this independent film, which made each unfolding scene a discovery, rather than an expectation....

Pros: Ecstatic storytelling; disturbing climax; titanic performances by leads Lynskey and Winslet
Cons: No Gollum

Now that visionary kiwi legend Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Corporate Rings" saga has combined grossed over six hundred million quid domestically, I feel obliged to congratulate Jackson on his long overdue success. But at the same time I can't help but...

Pros: Great Acting..Cinematgraphy...Location is accurate...Accurate story-telling...Great Direction
Cons: Some Scenes are Disturbing and very Confusing

Peter Jackson is mostly known for his directing work in the most oddball gory movies ever made, from the all extremely gory Dead Alive to the oddball puppet show of Meet the Feebles. Its almost shocking to know that Jackson could direct such a horrific...

Pros: Performances. Direction. Set design. Story-telling. Gets under your skin.
Cons: We might ask "Where this is going?" a bit too much.

Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures is an accomplishment like few others: Despite being nearly 2 hours long (uncut version), it manages to maintain our interest the entire time just so that we can figure out what was going on at the beginning. For ...

Pros: Good acting, riveting, at times funny. It's a worthwhile watch.
Cons: The theme of matricide.

The producers took the name, Heavenly Creatures from a 1953 poem by one of the imaginative inhabitants of the Fourth World, Pauline Yvonne Parker, daughter of a fish store manager and her mother, Honora Parker, the cook of the house and landlady. ...

Pros: A remarkable, compelling character study.
Cons: None.

When Heavenly Creatures (directed by Peter Jackson, The Frighteners) begins, old film footage from the early 1950s or so plays on the screen, depicting the high christian values of New Zealand society. Suddenly, the footage shifts to two...

Pros: haunting, beautiful, thought-provoking
Cons: i almost couldn't sleep after watching it...

Heavenly Creatures is one of the most fascinating and disturbing movies I've ever seen. It's the true story of Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, two 15-year-old girls from New Zealand, whose friendship becomes so intense that they lash out at anything...

Pros: True story
Cons: whining, obsessed schoolgirls

I was excited to see Heavenly Creatures because it was based on a true story and I had also just seen Sense and Sensibility, in which I thought Kate Winslet was wonderful. The movie starts out with a lonely schoolgirl, Pauline (Melanie Lynskey) in ...

Pros: Extremely accurate, great special FX, masterful writing--EXCELLENT A+ film.
Cons: The uncut NZ version is not available in the United States--big@ss bummer.

I must’ve seen Heavenly Creatures about 6 times this week alone.

It’s Gay Pride Month/Week/Whatever and it seems to have taken over all airtime on cable stations like Bravo!, Independent Film Channel, and Sundance. HC was...

Pros: Everything is literally exceptional
Cons: None

Two girls, Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet) and Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey)are running through trees, screaming. Since the camera is bouncing up and down, we cannot make out their features. However, finally the camera stops and focuses on them. We see...

Pros: Disturbing, interesting, more serious than Jackson's previous work, plot, cinematography, special effects, acting
Cons: Might be too wierd for some, hard to understand at times, music seems childish sometimes

This film struck me so hard when I first saw it. There is no other film like it, no doubt. Yet, I was surprised to see a serious film from a director known for his sick and twisted humor. Peter Jackson really outdoes himself with this one. His inventive...

Pros: cinematography, story, script, direction
Cons: not for kids

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...

Pros: Brilliant actors, especially Winslet in her debut; Actuality of story; Momentum of plot; Escapism motif
Cons: Some viewers may find the imaginary journeys into "clay land" a bit disruptive and tangential.

"Heavenly Creatures" came to me accidentally. Our friend and video store owner, Lloyd, had it among his favorites and recommended that I see it. I had no idea that it would so feverishly rivet my attention and so majestically capture the debut...