Heavenly Creatures

Most helpful review Heavenly Creatures

• Peter Jackson's heavenly masterpiece

   

  By Daniel Pollard from Manchester, England , 03 Mar 2009

  [Highly rated reviewer]

  Before Lord of the Rings and King Kong, Peter Jackson, New Zealand’s most well known film director made his greatest film, Heavenly Creatures. This masterpiece is about two young school friends with a close, almost too close, a relationship who vow to do anything to stay together. Their relationship becomes so intense they resort to murder and their case becomes notorious throughout New Zealand.
  
  This sounds like a dark portrait of two young killers with homicidal tendencies but it’s a beautifully told tale of friendship and the love between two marginalised girls. Jackson doesn’t concentrate on the criminal trial of the girls or their subsequent parting, but focuses on the imaginary world and characters the girls create, the love and affection they show each other, the emotional hysteria they work themselves into and in their eyes, the valid reasons for their final murder.
  
  Drawing parallels with his later films, Jackson is adept at bringing to life the girls fantasy world, which when mixed with the real world, creates a dangerous mix. He creates an unbearable sense of foreboding and hopelessness, which can also be seen in his later big budget Hollywood faire.
  
  This film should not be under-estimated, it launched Kate Winslet’s career as an Oscar winning actress and Jackson as a formidable screenwriter. Unfortunately, it’s not available in the UK on DVD, so even though I recommend it thoroughly, there is not much chance of watching this masterpiece apart from the odd television broadcast.

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