Criaturas celestiales

Heavenly Creatures, based on a true story, is written, directed and produced by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame. This film captivates, catching you off guard.

Jackson sets the audience up in the beginning by focusing on the tranquil, predictable world of 1950s Christchurch, New Zealand. Before long, the peaceful world is exposed for what it is, repressed.

Two teenage girls, Juliet and Pauline, befriend each other at a private girl's school. They find out they have a lot in common. Sharing a world of fantasy and make believe, leads to an insane reversal. Their fantasy world becomes their reality.

Once they cross that line, their otherwise superficial, conventional world is turned upside down. All the repressed dysfunction surfaces. Ironically, Juliet's mother is a psychotherapist who doesn't see her daughter's neurosis becoming a psychosis. Eventually, Pauline and Juliet go off the deep end, drowning in their make believe world. By the end of the film, they do the unthinkable.

Kate Winslet is superb as Juliet. The rest of the cast is outstanding. Peter Jackson does a masterful job of capturing the essence of 1950s religious repression in New Zealand. It could be England or American in the 1950s. Heavenly Creatures will appeal to anyone who enjoys psychological twists and turns.

I really liked this film. Like the overwhelming majority of people, I didn't know about the real crime behind the story of this film, where the friendship between two teenagers turns into a sexual and romantic obsession and leads the two young women to kill the mother of one of them, in hope that they can run away or stay together.

Directed by Peter Jackson, still a long way from dreaming that he would be as successful as "The Lord of the Rings", the film is excellent and does a great job in terms of recreating the events and psychology of the two central characters. Of course, according to what I've read, the facts are not entirely clear as to the nature of the relationship the two girls had, but it seems quite clear that, at the very least, there was a very strong obsession between them and a certain dissociation from reality. , through the creation of a fantasy alternative world that functioned as an escape. The film shows us this clearly and manages to maintain a certain ambiguity where it seems most necessary.

This was the debut film for young Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynksey. None of them seem exactly like newcomers or inexperienced in the cinematographic art, which can only be a revealing parameter of talent, and of the great qualities that both have revealed since then, most especially Winslet, who has dedicated more time to cinema and achieved a different level of recognition. In addition to them, we also have the excellent performances by Sarah Peirse, Clive Morrison and Diana Kent, in the role of three of the paternal figures.

Technically, the film doesn't have any major problems. The pace is ideal, there are no dead moments or situations that seem to be too much or to have been stilted, and the editing is very good and well executed. The cinematography is excellent, with great color and light, particularly in the fantasy scenes, where we enter the fantastic world that these young women created for themselves. The sets are good and, together with the costumes, recreate the period portrayed with verisimilitude. The filming locations are magnificent, very well selected and used. The soundtrack is equally good.

Based on a true story that took place in New Zealand in the mid-1950s, "Heavenly Creatures" is one of those films that seems tame at first glance, but is full of explosive devices. Co-writer/director Peter Jackson (of "The Lord of the Rings" fame) crafts a highly-disturbing motion picture about two teenaged girls (Melanie Lynsky and Kate Winslet, in the role that put her on the cinematic map) who have a highly potent relationship that is based on their love for literature and their love for a conjured-up fantasy world. Their intense friendship borders the line on a deep obsession as the two become inseparable. Their parents believe that lesbianism may be part of the partnership. Even though there are dream sequences and undertones aplenty to point to that, the girls' friendship does not go that way in real life. As others try to separate them for good, the girls come up with a devious plan to destroy who they feel is the major culprit (Lynskey's mother, played by Kirsti Ferry). The movie goes into a dark place and its somewhat sweet candy-coating tries to hide the fact that this was a truly major incident in a time and place where things like this just did not occur. Jackson was going for something like Peter Weir's equally disturbing "Picnic at Hanging Rock", but ends up creating a film that runs rings around that disappointing work. Jackson's smart direction just enhances a really intelligent Oscar-nominated screenplay. Kate Winslet does truly steal the show from Lynskey who was meant to be the real focal point of the production. A good film that would lead to even better works for the major players involved. 4 stars out of 5.

I understand why teenage girls would like this movie--the thrilling rush of new found deep friendship tied together with nascent sexuality and all that comes with it...the defying of the confines of the world around them...the incredible power of unfettered creativity and self-delusional belief...

What's amazing is that a jaded thirty-something man like myself would consider it to be his favorite film of all time. Peter Jackson shows a deftness in handling interpersonal characterizations and blending in amazing special effects in a way that seems so natural...so fluid...that you while you're awed by what you see, you're not so aware of the process that you're distracted. The oh-so-1993 effect of "morphing" is used better here than any other film (save, perhaps, Terminator 2--but in that movie, the morphing WAS the film...when here, it is merely one element.)

The direction is exemplary. The cinematography is awe inspiring. The script is sharp. The acting...down the line...is superb. Melanie Lynskey delivers a brave performance--giddy, childish, frightening, sexual, clouded... She's everything Christina Ricci pretends to be. Kate Winslet--hyper-bright and wonderful...her performance here reminds you that her "Titanic" performance was "sunk" (sorry!) by the extremely poor dialogue she was given. Her character's overly cheerful demeanor is a mask that covers her disappointment in her parents--but it's extended so far that it no longer seems like a mask...it seems to be a force of nature that drags Lynskey's Pauline along for a dangerous ride...a ride that Winslet's Juliet is in no position to control. There are crisp performances from all of the supporting cast as well.

Jackson should be listed with Gilliam and even Lynch when it comes to directors who can achieve a glorious, if dark, vision. The fact that Jackson's movies (save for "Meet the Feebles") are mainstream accessible--in ways that Lynch, especially, could barely consider (although "The Frighteners" was painfully overlooked by the US market)--makes me wish that he'd try his hand at more mainstream material.

Imagine what a Peter Jackson "Titanic" would have been like...and compare that to what a James Cameron "Heavenly Creatures" would have been like and you get my point.

I was both really shocked and mesmerized at this film. The film is sort of an open-minded story about a real-life event, told in a fantasy genre. Peter Jackson's direction is simply phenomenal. The way he tells this story, he does not want it to be a regular thriller, or fantasy, he lingers in both. He manages to create a sort of scary, yet beautiful account of this event. The way he captures the girls' imaginations on screen is simply spellbinding. The characters themselves are brought to life so effortlessly, so magically realized, thanks to the magnificent screenplay. Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet are so great together. Their chemistry, their power together, it is so well captured. But it is Kate Winslet who shines more. This was her first big movie role, and I believe it is what started her amazing movie career. She is simply magnificent. She steals every scene she is in. She was robbed of an Oscar nomination for sure. The cinematography of the film is also what caught my eye. The camera-work is done differently than other films. It is so magnificent though, but it might annoy some people who like 'steady' shots.

Overall, I cannot really out into words how extraordinary this film is. It is enough just to see it. It is probably one of the most memorable films of 90s. One of the most haunting. It is a must-see, and probably Peter Jackson's masterpiece(It is altogether more affecting than the Lord of the Rings)