Heavenly Creatures
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 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
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Critic's review of Heavenly Creatures
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Chilling, sensitively directed account of the dangerous mixture of fantasy and reality that precipitated a tragic and violent death. It is a considerable achievement and an unexpected advance from a director hitherto known for slapdash, gore-filled horror
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33215
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- Halliwell's Film Guide
- 02 Mar 2006 at 15:43
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Most helpful member's review of Heavenly Creatures
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Before Lord of the Rings and King Kong, Peter Jackson, New Zealands most well known film director made his greatest film, Heavenly Creatures. This ...
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719575
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[Highly rated reviewer]
[Highly rated reviewer]
- Daniel Pollard
- Manchester, England
- 03 Mar 2009 at 18:42
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Most recent members' reviews of Heavenly Creatures
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An emotional and touching interpretation of a true story. The two main actresses play their roles brilliantly. A very good watch.
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1086414
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- Nat3
- 7 reviews
- 28 Jan 2012 at 20:19
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Horrific film. But very good. Couldn't stop watching it. That was on Sunday evening and on Wednesday I think I've finally stopped feeling horrified by ...
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1085491
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- a customer
- 25 Jan 2012 at 19:53
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I agree with a another reviewer about Kate's voice, but she is still a joy to watch.
Typical of young girls of that era (and this was before ...
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1085310
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- a customer
- Leicestershire
- 25 Jan 2012 at 09:02
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