Heavenly Creatures

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Heavenly Creatures

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Heavenly Creatures

Ben Skjellerup, Clive Merrison, Darien Takle, Diana Kent, Elizabeth Moody

After winning a cult following for several offbeat and darkly witty gore films, New Zealand director Peter Jackson abruptly shifted gears with this stylish, compelling, and ultimately disturbing tale ...( read more  read more... )of two teenage girls whose friendship begins to fuel an ultimately fatal obsession. Pauline (Melanie Lynskey) is a student in New Zealand who doesn't much care for her family or her classmates; she's a bit overweight and not especially gracious, but she quickly makes friends with Juliet (Kate Winslet), a pretty girl whose wealthy parents have relocated from England. Pauline and Juliet find they share the same tastes in art, literature, and music (especially the vocal stylings of Mario Lanza), and together they begin to construct an elaborate fantasy world named Borovnia, which exists first in stories and then in models made of clay. The more Pauline and Juliet dream of Borovnia, the more the two find themselves retreating into this fantastical world of art, adventure, and Gothic romance as they slowly drift away from reality. The girls' parents decide that perhaps they're spending too much time together, and try to bring them back into the real world, but this only feeds their continued obsession with Borovnia (and each other) and leads to a desperate and violent bid for freedom. Featuring excellent performances (especially by Kate Winslet) and imaginative production design and special effects, Heavenly Creatures skillfully allows the audience to see Pauline and Juliet both from their own fantastic perspective and how they seem to the rest of the world. Remarkably enough, Heavenly Creatures is based on a true story; in real life, Juliet grew up to become mystery novelist Anne Perry.~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Id: 10853023

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Recent Reviews

Heavenly Creatures Recent Reviews
  • pier007
    June 12, 2009
    pier007
    An incredibly bleak subject matter shaped with beautiful poetic imagery.
  • mrpopcorn
    April 20, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "The true story of a crime that shocked a nation."

    Two girls have an intense fantasy life; their parents, concerned the fantasy is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.

    REVIEW

    A be...( read more)autifully disturbing film, "Heavenly Creatures" combines style, imagination, flawless acting and a seamlessly written story. I understand that a film such as this can be too intense for some viewers, but this does not affect its quality or significance. Peter Jackson uses his horror film background to erect a dramatically twisted tragedy that barely misses being perfect. For the audience, the experience is like putting on a pathological suit, where you walk in the footsteps of near crazy and then jump over to the other side. Remarkably though, Jackson manages to maintain a balance where the viewer does not lose sympathy for any characters, therefore making the tragic turn much more devastating. If you want to be a filmmaker, if you are a Peter Jackson fan, or if you just wanna see a powerfully unique film, "Heavenly Creatures" must be seen.
  • kiriyamakazou
    April 4, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    An wonderful depiction of Jackson's cinematic talents. He mixes story, emotion and vision seamlessly. The young girl's debuts are not to go without mention. Both startling and mature for such young girls, they bring humanity, but also fear to their roles. It's a dark film that sh...( read more)ows love as a kind of sickness. As the girls finally find solace in each other, their worlds soon crumble down. Jackson's imagnation makes way for some beautiful dream sequences. The imaginary world where people are made of clay is always a delight when it shows up. Offering perfect parallels to the story. As one of he girls loses her virginity we see her imaginary world become distorted and twisted. A look at the corruption of innocence and the dangers of adult lives.
  • creepfreak
    December 14, 2008
    creepfreak
    Depressing, unsettling, and chilling to the bone. This is the true story of Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, who's friendship became an obsession and an escape into a fantasy beyond any imagination, which led them to murder Pauline's mother, by bludgeoning her to death after she ...( read more)became an interference in ruining their perfect relationship.

    This movie is haunting...and deeply, deeply disturbing! Heavenly Creatures will bring you down. It not only portrays the events which took place, but it also takes you deep in depth through the minds of these sick, obsessed, and delusional, lost little girls.

    The performances here are simply unforgettable and the cinematography is flawless.


    - The Real Pauline Parker

    - Melanie Lynskey as Pauline Parker


    - The Real Juliet Hulme

    - Kate Winslet as Juliet Hulme

    The trial was a sensational affair, with speculation about their possible lesbianism and insanity. The girls were convicted on August 30, 1954, and each of them spent five years in prison. They were released with the condition that they never contact each other again. To this day, they have not contacted each other.

    This is top notch, Grade "A" filmmaking. Heavenly Creatures is a dark, and nightmarish masterpiece.

    "One of the most genuinely disturbing films I have ever seen."
    - Film Threat

    "What makes Jackson's film enthralling and frightening is the way it shows these two unhappy girls, creating an alternative world so safe and attractive they thought it was worth killing for."
    - Roger Ebert

    "A dark, astounding film from Peter Jackson, showing his mastery of blending fact and fantasy. A deserved winner of Venice Festival's Silver Lion and Toronto Fest's Critics Award. Along with Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, this is 1994's most audacious film."
    - Emanuel Levy

    "Revealed in unforgettable fashion by a capable director, the events that unfold in this film are not easily forgotten."
    - ReelViews

    "Yes, it's a heart-rending drama, but it's also a chilling real-horror film and so much more. It is the single best film in Jackson's filmography, and a compliment to New Zealand cinema."
    - Classic-Horror

    "Heavenly Creatures is as intense and disturbing as the real-life crime it re-creates."
    - EW
  • LitelBluHli
    December 1, 2008
    LitelBluHli
    Disturbing fantasy sort of movie. Still interesting though, not for everybody.
  • GreenGoblin92
    December 24, 2009
    GreenGoblin92
    This has got to be the most brutal and chilling film ever made, even though it's not even that violent (it's not Saw-violent or Hostel-violent, it's more like Lord of the Rings-violent). But the ending...Oh, God. I can't watch that again.

    Why make a film about a "story that shoc...( read more)ked the nation"? Like, what happened at the ending was just too cruel cos it REALLY HAPPENED. How could that be entertainment? If it were fiction, then yes, I wouldn't mind the ending that much. It's just insensitive that they made this film. This is not how films are supposed to be like, really. It should've been a documentary or something.

    This film had great direction and also quite good special effects, but they were wasted on the story that should've never been made. I'm sorry, but the story just doesn't work well in the film. Or maybe I'm just too sensitive about films based on real events.
  • mojo00
    December 22, 2009
    mojo00
    Kate Winslet did look a bit older than 14-years-old in this wonderfully acted movie, but that might be because she was 17 in real life.
    I thought Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey were great as the roles for Juliet and Pauline though something that did annoy me a little was that ...( read more)suddenly Melanie Lynskey were playing so many different characters, her name was suddenly Pauline, Yvonne, Charles, Paul and Gina, and I had absolutely no idea where all the names came from.
    It was still really sad and emotional and a very gripping story, even though the beginning was weird and didn't have anything to do with the movie and the feeling you have now when the movie is finished.
  • Phonex
    December 19, 2009
    Phonex
    True story. Very nice. Bad end.
  • eryri
    December 18, 2009
    eryri
    A shocking movie about two girls who murder one of their mothers when she suspects they're both getting too close to one another.
  • TheChevalier77
    December 14, 2009
    TheChevalier77
    Peter Jackson's carved a great film out of bleak subject matter. Definately recommended.
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