Heavenly Creatures
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Movie Reviews of Heavenly Creatures
Movie Review: New Zealand's Most Shocking Murder Case, And The Teenaged Girls Who Carried It Out
Summary: 5 Stars
The true-life tale told in Peter Jackson's often deceptively meandering Heavenly Creatures is one of lurid murder, and it possesses the ability to make a viewer recoil, not only because of the identity of the victim in the particularly heinous and cold blooded crime, but because of the identity of the killers. When I was in Christchurch, New Zealand this year, I happened to mention the Parker-Hulme murder, and the reactions I received from people my own age and younger showed that even fifty-three years after they occurred, the case still holds power over the collective memory of that normally peaceful nation. When I came home I watched Heavenly Creatures for the first time since high school, and found it probably even more troubling than I did years ago.
Before he was better known in the United States for making The Lord of the Rings, New Zealand native Peter Jackson shot this fantasy-heavy version of a killing he'd grown up hearing so much about. He cast Kate Winslett and Melanie Lynskey as Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, two slightly off-center girls whose unusual detachment from reality and somewhat disordered species of lesbianism set up a disturbing background for their premeditated crime. While the concept of adolescents who kill family members is less novel to us today than it was generations back, to enter into the minds and secret lives of Pauline and Juliet still makes for a unique sort of head trip. I also found the realization that Jackson shot nearly all of Heavenly Creatures on the actual sites of the events depicted generates a peculiar frisson in me every time I settle in to watch it. Jackson shot the tea shop scene in the actual restaurant in which Mrs. Parker had her last meal moments before her slaying, and as rumor has it, was set to shoot the death segment literally atop the actual ground on which the murder took place, but felt there was something too troubling in the act, so he re-located a short space away. In my opinion it's little details like these that only add to the creepy quality of Heavenly Creatures.
In a side note, Juliet Hulme went on in later life to become a best selling novelist---of murder/detective fiction, no less---and is still writing today under the pen name of Anne Perry.
Movie Review: "How can these heavenly creatures be real?"
Summary: 5 Stars
Opening with a startling sequence involving two blood soaked teenage girls, `Heavenly Creatures' begins and ends in tragedy. Telling the shocking true story of two young girls who committed a terrible crime, this film is as accurate as it is moving. Pauline and Juliet were just two girls in love, but when their families insisted on separating them they had no choice but to take matters into their own hands.
Melanie Lynskey and of course Kate Winslet work wonders with their roles, each one so different yet so much the same. Melanie plays Pauline Rieper, the narrator of the story. She's a bit of an outcast, living under strict watch of her parents Honorah (Sarah Pierce) and Herbert (Simon O'Connor), but when she meets Juliet things start to change for her. As Juliet, Kate infuses so much natural charm into her character that you can instantly understand why Pauline would be attracted to her in the first place. They instantly bond, growing closer to each other with their fantasies and stories. Juliet's parents are much different than Pauline's. They are much more lenient yet they tend not to take much interest in their young daughter, even going as far as to leave her when she goes ill, not seeing her for four months.
The girl's parents soon start to suspect something indecent between their daughters and try and separate them, to no avail. When Juliet's health worsens and her parent's marriage starts to crumble they insist on sending Juliet away, out of the country without Pauline. It's at this point that the plot is hatched to murder someone standing in their way...just who is it? The end of this film, as shocking as the beginning, will leave you speechless. Peter Jackson deserves honors for bringing this horrendous account to life and casting such wonderful talents to help in doing so.
Being the debut for both Winslet and Lynskey it definitely shows what amazing things they are capable of (I mean since her debut in '94 Kate Winslet has gone on to receive 4 Oscar nominations and may very well receive number 5 this year!). This is not one to miss for any fan of a moving drama that delves deep into the minds of two young girls who just wanted to be together, no matter what!
Movie Review: "Not all angels are innocent"
Summary: 5 Stars
Pauline Rieper (New Zealand native Melanie Lynskey, "Sweet Home Alabama")has a dull and unhappy life at home with her family. And since none of the other girls at school understand her, she has no friends. The Hulme family moves in town from England, and their daughter Juliet (Winslet, who won the part over 175 other girls) clicks instantly with Pauline, especially since the girls share a love of literature and fantasy. In their creative minds, they begin to write about a ficticious world they want to be in; these parts of the film are shown with life-size versions of the clay model characters they make. Juliet and Pauline are inseperable, mainly because Juliet's wealthy parents always seem to be trying to ditch her, and Pauline is humiliated by her father and suffocated by her mother. But the girls parents, particularly Pauline's mother, begin to notice bizarre behavior from them, and decide that they need to see less of each other. What else are two disturbed girls to do but conspire to kill the person that wants to keep them apart?
Not only is this a true story, it came out in 1994, while Jackson ("Lord of the Rings" fame) was filming this, that Juliet Hulme was actually mystery novel writer Anne Perry. Pauline Rieper was tracked down in 1997 in a run down cottage, apparently living under the name Hilary Nathan, and has since become a devout Catholic who spends her time helping handicapped children. Aparrently, they were eventually released from prison under the condition that they never see each other again. Jackson has an uncredited cameo, playing a bum that gets kissed by Winslet's character outside a theatre. All of the journal voice-overs are direct from real diary entries made by Pauline Rieper. Also, almost all locations used for filming were the genuine locations where the events occurred. The tea shop where Honorah Parker ate her last meal was knocked down a few days after the shoot ended. According to Jackson, when they got to the location of the murder on the dirt path, it was eerily quiet; the birds stopped singing, and it didn't seem right. So they moved along a couple of hundred yards. Fascinating movie; no DVD extras, but there is another 10 minutes or so of footage not seen in the original cut.
Movie Review: "Isn't it frightfully romantic?"
Summary: 5 Stars
"Heavenly Creatures" was Peter Jackson's breakout film. It's an amazing contrast--with its small scale and documentary style--to the epic extravaganza of "The Lord of the Rings." What makes the story powerful is that it tells the true story of Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey) and Julie Hulme (Kate Winslet,having beginner's luck before Titanic) The girls were infamous for the matricide in Christchurch in 1954.
"Heavenly Creatures" powerfully blends the realistic with the fantastical. The two isolated girls create their own "Fourth World"--where Mario Lanza sings,they're princesses,and there are no Christians. Their close friendship becomes closer in the erotic sense as well--they bathe together,they kiss,they ask the permission of a male "saint" to be intimate with each other. They come from dysfunctional families. Parker's parents aren't married-a scandal at the time- and Hulme's parents are divorcing. As their families disintegrate, Julie and Pauline become obsessed with each other. They can't bear separation. They become immersed in their fantasy world.
"Heavenly Creatures" doesn't excuse the girls for their crime. It is depicted as it was--horrific. The girls' punishment is exactly what they feared the most. Peter Jackson shows the relationship as unhealthy for being obsessive,alienated from reality&finally murderous,not for being homoerotic.
"Heavenly Creatures" is an early masterpiece for Jackson and Winslet. Jackson powerfully creates an "alternate world" and its consequences. Though the girls' "Fourth World" had no Christians,it's ironic that Pauline Parker is now devoutly Catholic,giving equestrian lessons, while Julie Hulme calls herself Anne Perry,is a convert to Mormonism,and is now a mystery writer. Perhaps they have found redemption.
Movie Review: Heavenly Creatures - Heavenly Christchurch
Summary: 5 Stars
I have lived in Christchurch all of my life, and it truly is a wonderful city to call home. But, as Heavenly Creatures points out, it is also home to one of the biggest scandals in New Zealand history.
The murder of Honora Parker raised many eyebrows during the winter of 1954. Firstly because she was murdered by her daughter Pauline, and Pauline's best friend Juliet. Secondly because it was discovered after the murder that Honora was not actually 'married' to her husband Mr Rieper. Even though she went about her life as Honora Rieper, she was hiding a mini scandal of her own (in 1950's New Zealand life).
The day of the murder was 22 June 1954, and it was an unseasonably warm day during what had otherwise been a very cold winter. It was so warm in fact that many people skipped work or school and headed outdoors. My own Grandmother took a 'day off' from work and actually spent the day in Victoria Park. It wasn't until she returned home and turned on her radio that night that she had been at the Murder site that very day.
Peter Jackson does a wonderful job of capturing Christchurch in the 1950's and telling the shocking but true story of Parker and Hulme, and the desires that drove them to murder Honora. While the city has changed much since 1954, there are still many reminders from the story of Parker and Hulme. Both family homes still stand, as does the former High School and former University, as portrayed in the movie. Victoria Park continues to be a popular picnic spot - and no other notable crimes have ever been committed there.
From a historical standpoint, this movie makes for great viewing. Includes archival news footage and features many of New Zealands most talented actors - such as Melanie Lynsky.