A UNIQUE STORY OF : "HEAVENLY CREATURES"

Did I ever mention I rather liked true crime? I know, not a very appetizing introduction for a person. Nevertheless I feel by this time you all know me well enough for me to be able to risk telling you this. It’s not that I am a particular fan of gore and blood and such like – if anything I’m a complete lightweight as far as that sort of thing goes. But I guess part of the “fascination” is the fact that I do find killing and murder so abhorrent, films or books of true crime, if they’re well executed of course, tend to give interesting insights into the minds of the killers, which I find particularly fascinating. I am also greatly interested in human psychology, I guess this is another reason I cannot resist a peak into “the mind of the killer”. Heavenly creatures, despite its name, is particularly well executed and thus particularly sad example of the genre. One of those films that gets its claws into your gut and twists and twists, right till the very end. Even if you do know the ending – not a tough thing to do, this being a true crime story…
So the true story that inspires Heavenly Creatures took place in New Zeeland in the early 1950’s. Pauline Parker is a shy, quiet girl, not too many friends in school, grades not overly brilliant… She comes from an underprivileged family, nothing in her life is especially brilliant or original until Juliet Hulme arrives in town. Juliet is the daughter of a celebrated English scholar, outgoing and vociferous, in short many things Pauline was not. But the unlikely pair strikes up a strong friendship very, very quickly. Their friendship only intensifies with time, growing to include an imaginary world called The Fourth World where their favorite stars and singers are worshipped as saints and magical adventures are plentiful. In time, it becomes obvious to everyone, the girl’s parents included, that they are a lot more than just friends. At age 15 the girls are undoubtedly in love. The only problem is, you mustn’t forget, this was the year 1954. Homosexuality was still considered some kind of mental disorder. The parents – well-meaning but misguided - decide it is best to separate the girls indefinitely. For Pauline and Juliet, both of whose grip on reality has significantly loosened, not to mention blinded by passion and fear of separation, there seems to be one way out of this… Murder.
Ok, so at least I managed not to tell you who got murdered. But I mean, I did know who got murdered and even so watched the film with baited breath. One fact worth mentioning maybe, is that the director of this film is Peter Jackson – yes, you know, the one who directed The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and King Kong. I personally thought he would turn out to have more of a talent for epics and not the more sentimental stories, it turns out I was very, very wrong. And the actresses, well, Juliet Hulme is none other than a young Kate Winslet! And Pauline is played by Melanie Lynsky, who we have later seen in secondary parts in films such as Up In the Air and The Informant! And TV series like Two and a half men. So all in all it’s quite a little cluster of talent. When you couple this with such a heart-rending story the film can’t not be a success really. Personally, it hit me like a freight train. Of course when you have such a striking story at the heart of it you know you’re on to a winner. Heavenly creatures is intensely sad and thought provoking without being “cheap” or a tear-jerker. Good quality stuff. Enjoy.