Heavenly Creatures, Peter Jackson

The Movie

    Set in 1950s New Zealand, the movie traces the real life story of two best friends, Pauline Rieper (Parker) and Juliet Hulme, as they become best friends, and perhaps more throughout the course of two years. They get lost in an imaginative world of their own making, becoming quite manic in the process. Until, at the end they murder Pauline's mother.

    The movie opens with a faux documentary of what 1950s New Zealand was like and is interrupted with two girls running up the hill, blood soaked, screaming that "Mummy had an accident. Mummy is dead! From there Jackson takes us backwards in time, to the day when Juliet Hulme was enrolled in Christchurch Girls High School and caught the eye of angry, working class Pauline Rieper. The two bonded during gym class, as neither was allowed to participate, Juliet because she was still recovering from tuberculosis, and Pauline, because she had had osteomyelitis as a child and her bones were thought to be too brittle. Finding out that they had both spent long periods in hospitals and away from home as children, they became fast friends. Pauline was fascinated by Juliet's upper class family, their  suave, artsy lifestyle, and Juliet's endless imagination. Juliet was an extremely intelligent girl, at one time registering a genius level IQ of about 170.  Pauline, though from a modest background, was smart enough to stay in school and excel. 

    Both girls are moody teenagers, prone to tantrums and fighting with their parents. During the course of their friendship, they are discovered to have a calming effect on each other. Their parents allow the friendship to grow, as each girl is easier to manage. As their friendship grows, they each find in the other a fertile ground to expand their imaginary world. They decide they want to become writers. They write several novels during this time period. All is going well, until Juliet's father is sent back to England and her mother is dead set on accompanying him. Because Juliet had been promised not to be separated from her family when she came to live in New Zealand, Juliet is angry. It is quickly agreed that Juliet can stay with Pauline. 

    But fate intervenes, when Juliet's tuberculosis reactivates, and she has to spend several months in the hospital. Her parents leave her there, much to Juliet's anger. Pauline, remembering how difficult it was to be in the hospital for such a long time, comes up with the brainwave of writing letters to each other in the voices of the main characters from their imaginary world. Over the course of the following months, Pauline's writings become violent, and she slides into delinquency, pursuing boys and shoplifting. When one her relationships turns sexual, she is wracked with guilt, and breaks up with him. Juliet is pleased. It doesn't last long, Pauline goes back to the boyfriend for a few weeks, but when Juliet gets out of the hospital, Pauline leaves the boy for good.

    Meanwhile, Juliet's charismatic mother moves her lover into the house. When Juliet catches them in bed together, she attempts to blackmail them, to get her way. It backfires. And Pauline's mother is convinced Juliet is the reason Pauline's behavior has become so moody. They are forbidden from seeing each other. 

    Now convinced both sets of parents are only out to make the girls miserable, they plot run away to America and become movie stars, novelists or screen writers. The girl's behavior becomes more manic and wild, until they murder Pauline's mother with a brick. 

My Thoughts

    The murder and the then shocking allegations of lesbianism caused a sensation in New Zealand, a country which barely had three murders a year at the time. 

    Made in 1993 and released to critical acclaim in 1994, in time for the 40th anniversary of the grisly murder, Heavenly Creatures exploded onto the international scene, when just the day before the film's debut, an investigative  journalist named Lin Ferguson  revealed that Juliet Hulme had changed her name upon her release from prison and was now popular murder mystery novelist Anne Perry. The resulting international press, especially in the US, Perry's best selling market made it possible for a wider release and eligible for more prestigious awards. The resulting Academy Award nominating for Best Original Screenplay propelled Jackson and his partner, Fran Walsh through The Lord of the Rings selection process. 

    If you are a The Lord of the Rings fan, then this movie is a must see. The quality of the story telling is phenomenal. First of all, the way Jackson orders the story was copied first by Joanne Drayton (although she starts her story where Ferguson got in touch with Perry's agent) and later by Peter Graham. As if ordering the story in any other way would make less sense. This is the power of Jackson's ability to select the correct scenes to convey the story. 

    While the Rieper and Hulme of the books are emotionally different, and less likeable creatures than the girls portrayed in the movie, the performances by Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey are incredible. Winslet's Hulme is dynamic, charismatic, with a soft vulnerability. And Lynskey's Rieper is moody, erratic, lonely and imaginative. The chemistry between Winslet and Lynskey is palpable, leaping off of the screen. This movie artfully dances between a fantasy world artistic beauty. Despite the grim nature and grisly ending of the movie, the airy feel of much of story makes it well balanced. The cinematography is in places stunning, and a real glimpse of how much depth Jackson the movie maker has in him. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

    I checked this movie out of my library when it is not available to be streamed anywhere, not at a cost, much less for free. As such, I would have to spend $12 to have it shipped to me from Amazon. It was shipped in from the Warren-Newport Library, which is two districts over from mine in this county. As such, the savings reflected on my receipt follow whatever convention their library uses. I checked it out with the Peter Graham book of the same topic and the total came out $25.29. The hardcover book has $24.95 listed as the price. Which, by way of math, leaves $0.34 as the price of the movie. I don't like that answer. I clearly remember this movie being in the $3 bin at Walmart a decade ago, when we all had DVD players, but it is the number so I will use it. 

This Movie                                            $0.34

Items Reviewed This Year                $851.39

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