Warning: There are spoilers in this review. The film came out in 1994 so not that big of a deal,but I think it's not possible to discuss the film without speaking about some of the plot elements. Heavenly Creatures is a film that is mostly about the hidden desires of the people in a less accepting time. This kind of surprised me. Going in I knew that this was simply a pre Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson film that starred Kate Winslet. Well let me tell you something. Heavenly Creatures is a film about how love can lead to insanity,and then murder that in this much more enlightened time is gut wrenching. It's the true story of two girls that in 1953 killed the mother of one of them. But as I said it's also a character study of people who hold hidden desires. See when these two meet they soon develop a relationship that at first seems domineering (one of the girls is meticulous and scheming and the other is naive),but soon develops into a loving relationship. A relationship that both the girl's parents,and the society around them start to criticize. Heavenly Creatures was actually based on true events much of it coming from her diary. In it she explained the way that they used to escape into a fantasy type world. I think that this only seals the deal on the whole "less accepting time" thing. As the girls begin to lose their grip on reality the film get's more and more intense,but also surprisingly more loving as the relationship develops into something more intimate. It all reaches it's breaking point at the aforementioned killing,and Jackson made the right choice making it as brutal,and disturbing as possible bringing many emotions to the surface. It also presents the idea of "what if" this had only taken place in our time. If there are problems with the movie I think that the actors do kind of over act the entire thing. This was Winslet's first film role,and she doesn't seem quite as good as she usually is. Also the film isn't quite as menacing as it could be. Sure as the characters descend into madness it get's pretty harsh,but this is no Black Swan. Jackson's direction easily harnesses this energy though,and soon uses it to disturb the hell out of the audience creating a fascinating portrait of how two loving girls were pushed to murder. It would be a tragic masterpiece if only it would have gone further. Still I give Heavenly Creatures a 9 out of 10. Reviewed by Stephen Tronicek
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AuthorI am a 17 year old film enthusiast that is happy to be sharing my opinions on this site. Archives
March 2016
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