HEAVENLY CREATURES
A film review by Jeffrey Graebner
Copyright 1995 Jeffrey Graebner
Two of the most common and popular themes explored in the movies are the importance of friendship and the power of the imagination. These subjects are usually explored in movies that are considered to be the most uplifting. Peter Jackson's psychological drama HEAVENLY CREATURES explores these same themes, but finds a dark and disturbing side to them. The result is one of the most fascinating and provocative films of 1994.
HEAVENLY CREATURES tells the true story of a close friendship that develops between two 14-year-old girls. It is a friendship that eventually turns tragic when the girls almost inexplicably are driven to commit a horrible crime. Jackson and his co-screenwriter Frances Walsh vividly recreate this friendship providing a glimpse into the complex psychology that eventually leads to tragedy.
The film opens as a British girl named Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet) arrives in New Zealand where her father has just taken a position as a professor at an area university. Juliet is enrolled in the same school attended by Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey), an extremely introverted girl with few friends. Juliet and Pauline quickly develop a strong connection that leads to an intensely close friendship. Each girl possesses a vivid imagination and they attempt to escape from the pressures of adolescence by creating an elaborate fantasy world.
Jackson helps us to get more deeply into the minds of Juliet and Pauline through a number of methods. The most traditional is to allow Lynskey to narrate the film using actual excerpts from Pauline's diary. It is very fortunate that these diaries exist as they provide many insights into the friendship and what it meant to Pauline. This narration lends an aire of credibility to the film that would have been severely lacking without it. The narration is used sparingly enough that it never seems like a crutch being used to avoid more natural character development.
A more unorthodox method used to help us learn more about these characters is the *visual* portrayal of the fantasy world created by the girls. Juliet and Pauline created clay figurines to represent the various characters inside their fantasy world and Jackson uses state-of-the-art special effects to vividly bring these figurines to life. Through these fantasy sequences, we begin to see the first signs of trouble as the girls begin to mentally intertwine romance with violence. These sequences are convincing but appropriately subtle, allowing the special effects to always remain a tool used in service of the story instead of the other way around.
The most significant question raised by the film is whether or not the final tragedy was a result of an unnaturally close friendship or was largely a result of outside influences. The film suggests that tragedy might have been averted had the girls' friendship been permitted to develop in a natural manner.
Both of the girls had suffered from illnesses earlier in their lives which colored their view of the world before they even met. In an early scene, Juliet expresses a romantic view of the illnesses, providing another indication of the girls mixing romance with the negative. We also learn that Juliet had felt abandoned as she was often sent away from her family "for the good of her health." During the time frame shown in the movie, Juliet is bedridden for a while when she contracts tuberculosis. During this illness, Pauline and Juliete are only able to communicate via letters. It is through these letters that they create the most vivid details of their fantasy world.
The girls share a feeling of alienation from adults, particularly their own parents. The parents become concerned about the closeness of the girls' friendship and make some efforts to weaken it. There are also several scenes in which parents or teachers are shown attempting to stifle the strong creativity that is a major part of both Juliet and Pauline's personalities. At one point, Pauline's parents suggest that her interest in writing is inappropriate and there are also several scenes in which they are scolded by teachers for being creative instead of precisely following instructions outlined in the lessons. This mistrust of adults in their lives is also manifested as they create their own adult role models by including various celebrities in their fantasy world. Their images of such idols as tenor Mario Lanzer and actors like James Mason and Orson Welles become their heroes.
The film addresses the parents' concern that Juliet and Pauline's relationship might be homosexual in nature. The film is set in the early 1950s and this idea is so horrifying to the adults that they could barely even say the word. The movie does not completely rule out the possibility that the relationship *was* homosexual, but it doesn't fully embrace the idea either. Instead, Jackson and Walsh portray the girls as sufficiently unsophisticated when it comes to sexuality that they really would never be able to recognize a sexual component to their relationship if it existed.
In the end, the film leaves the viewer with the thought that the constant meddling into the friendship might have been a major cause of the tragedy. Each girl felt that the other was the only person who had ever given them the support and love that they needed. As they see threats to their friendship and are confronted with the danger of separation, they eventually reach a point where they come up with a horrifying solution.
Much of the success of this film is dependent on the performances by Lynskey and Winslet. Both are relatively inexperienced actors making their feature film debuts (both are given "and introducing" credits on this film.) They are both perfectly cast and give tremendously affecting and realistic performances.
As Juliet, Winslet creates a character that is bright and bubbly on the outside, but who also clearly has a dark side that sits right below the surface. Even when she is being completely polite and friendly, it can seem like her thoughts are far more sinister. Only when she is with Pauline does she seem completely and sincerely happy. Lynskey externally appears cold and unhappy. When she feels crossed, she shows an angry sneer that seems to go all the way down to her soul. When she is with Juliet, though, her entire appearance appears to brighten into an embodiment of happiness.
Among the most important accomplishments of Lynskey and Winslet's performances is to fully grab the audience's sympathy. The film allows us to truly come to *like* these girls and to desire to see their friendship survive. Their final tragic action is all the more disturbing for this reason. In some ways, we almost feel like we can *understand* their motivations. That makes the ending seem truly upsetting.
In addition to Lynsley and Winslet, the other major discovery of this film is director Peter Jackson. He manages to find exactly the right tone and style for this movie. The best example of Jackson's expert direction are breathtaking early scenes showing the development of Juliet and Pauline's relationship through frantic sequences of play all wonderfully scored with recordings by their idol Mario Lanza. Prior to this film, Jackson had some experience as a horror movie director which probably helped to prepare him for the seamless incorporation of the fantasy sequences in this film. Finally, the widescreen photography by Alun Bollinger is frequently creative but is never distracting.
HEAVENLY CREATURES is a fascinating psychological study that leaves the viewer with a great deal to think about. It is a film that is not easily forgotten after you leave the theater. The film is also important as an introduction to two major new acting talents and as proof of the talent of an important director. It is an incredible film.
-- Jeffrey P. Graebner Columbus, Ohio
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