Review of Heavenly Creatures (1994) by Ryan H — 22 Mar 2012
Oh Peter Jackson, how I love you so. You went out and made a movie that goes into the perspective of the main characters very well. Heavenly Creatures sets out to tell the story of Pauline and Juliet: two girls who fall in love with each other and share their world together.
From the opening we are uneasy about the story. If you don't know anything about the film, you're in for a surprise. Pauline and Juliet come running out of the woods screaming with blood on their faces, saying someone has been hurt in a bad way.
The rest of the film follows how these girls met, the way they tell their stories together, the differences in their families, how connected they are, and how they share their fantasy world together. It also shows how they are about to be torn apart.
The movie might seem silly and cheesy at times, but that's because Jackson is showing it from a 14 year old girl's perspective. Not just any ol' 14 year old girl, but a girl who we know is an emotional wreck from the beginning.
Pauline is a loner and seemingly depressed, until one day she meets Juliet who moves to New Zealand from England. She is just looking for someone to cling onto. Someone who shares the same interests as her.
Someone to connect with. She is human after all. So when she meets Juliet her world becomes a fantasy. If there was one little change I could make, it would be to not have a single scene without either Juliet or Pauline present the entire time.
I understand the importance of the scene with Juliet's dad talking to Pauline's parents about her, but without one of them being in the room it felt out of place. But that is just a minor change because it doesn't happen often.
But here, Jackson takes careful notice of how much he moves the camera around, how emotional he wants his actresses to be, and how he is going to transition from the real world to the fourth realm. It's all just really great.
I was drawn into the film the entire time. Heavenly Creatures is a masterpiece I won't soon forget.
This review of Heavenly Creatures (1994) was written by Ryan H on 22 Mar 2012.
Heavenly Creatures has generally received very positive reviews.
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