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‘Creatures’ a chilling psychological thrillerBy Dann GireDaily Herald Film CriticWe read about “senseless” acts of violence all the time in newspapers and magazines.A reporter, unable to make heads or tails out of the why’s of a heinous crime, simply shrugs his shoulders and writes about “the senseless” murder or “the senseless” beating or “the senseless” whatever.Invariably, the reporter gets it wrong. He gets it wrong because all acts of violence, no matter how perverse or random, make perfect sense — to the people who perpetrated them.This is the attitude thatwriter/director Peter Jackson employs in “Heavenly Creatures,” a provocative psychological thriller that delves beneath the facts of an infamous killing that took place in1952 New Zealand.Not only does the movie dissect the mysterious why’s of the event (much of the dialogue is taken directly from a girl’s diary), we can actually start to understand how the two teenagers came to recognize murder as a viable solution for their problems.The real incident involved two best friends named Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme. In the movie, they’re played by Melanie Lynskeyand Kate Winslet.Lynskey is dark-haired and brooding, whose character seems filled with personality voids and a simmering, vague anger. Winslet, blonde and perky, portrays Juliet as a smart and whimsical force of nature with a big imagination.Paulette pulls herself up into a tiny ball, hoping that the world will not notice her. Juliet, opinionated and verbose, pushes herself into the limelight with reckless abandon.When they meet in school, Juliet and Pauline are like the positive and negative ends of powerful magnets. Each personality complements the other, and so they become the best of pals. Perhapstoo much so.Filmmaker Jackson is less interested in the murder (a ghastlyMovie review“Heavenly Creatures”♦ ★ ★Screenplay by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh Produced by Jim Booth. Directed by Peter Jackson A Miramax Films release Rated R (violence, sexual situations.) 99 minutes. Exclusive at the Pipers Alley Theaters. Chicago.Cast:Pauline Parker..............Melanie LynskeyJuliet Hulme........................Kate WinsletHonora Parker Sarah Petrse HildaHume .............................Diane Kentevent inasmuch as we know it’s coming) as he is in the girls’ blossoming relationship, one predicated on a com mon fantasy played out in their imaginations.In their make-believe world, the girls create characters based on 6-inch high plastic figures they play with. As Jackson’s camera enterstheir imaginations, the sculpted figures become human-sized and begin talking with the girls.The effect is both disarming and chilling, for by the end of “Heavenly Creatures,” we have come to identify with the girls and see the world— with its Hawed, weak parents and rigid, non-understandingschools — through their vision, as warped as it is.“Creatures” represents a singular departure for Jackson, whose last film, the outrageously gory “Dead Alive,” ranks as the most gruesome and funniest adults-only flesh-eating zombie horror tale since George Romero’s shopping mailed “Dawn of the Dead.”Jackson proves he can master subtlety as well as excess in “Heavenly,” which asks more questions than it answers, although it does suggest that unlike many criminals, spawned by poverty and ignorance, Pauline and Juliet were merely products of families with no strongly affirmed values.Brought up in a relative vacuum, the girls do w'hat anyone would do in their situation: They made up their values as they went along.The tragic consequences speak for themselves
Newspaper Details
Arlington Heights Daily Herald Suburban Chicago
Arlington Heights, Illinois, US
Wed, Nov 23, 1994
Page 370
Full Page
Clipped by
Rotten T.
USA 07 Mar 2023
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