Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Two girls have an intense fantasy life; their parents, concerned the fantasy is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

Fran Walsh (screenplay), Peter Jackson (screenplay)

Stars:

Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 17 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Melanie Lynskey	...	Pauline Parker
Kate Winslet	...	Juliet Hulme
Sarah Peirse	...	Honora Parker Rieper
Diana Kent	...	Hilda Hulme
Clive Merrison	...	Dr. Henry Hulme
Simon O'Connor	...	Herbert Rieper
Jed Brophy	...	John / Nicholas
Peter Elliott	...	Bill Perry
Gilbert Goldie	...	Dr. Bennett
Geoffrey Heath	...	Rev. Norris
Kirsti Ferry	...	Wendy
Ben Skjellerup	...	Jonathan Hulme
Darien Takle	...	Miss Stewart
Elizabeth Moody	...	Miss Waller
Liz Mullane	...	Mrs. Collins

Storyline

Based on the true story of Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, two close friends who share a love of fantasy and literature, who conspire to kill Pauline's mother when she tries to end the girls' intense and obsessive relationship.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | friendship | fantasy life | 1950s | writing | 

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Taglines:

The true story of a crime that shocked a nation.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a chilling murder and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

New Zealand Germany

Language:

English French

Release Date:

14 October 1994 (New Zealand)

Also Known As:

Heavenly Creatures: The Uncut Version

Filming Locations:

Canterbury, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$3,049,135 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

WingNut Films, New Zealand Film Commission, Fontana Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 108 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Almost all locations used for filming were the genuine locations where the events occurred. The tea shop where Honora Parker ate her last meal was knocked down a few days after the shoot ended. According to director Peter 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.

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Goofs

Pauline's diary shows January 1st, 1954 as a Thursday, when it was really a Friday. This goof is even worse when you consider that earlier in the film, a similar shot of the same diary clearly shows the previous year and date (Thursday January 1st, 1953.)

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Director Peter Jackson opens with the scene that should, logically, end the film: that is, the moments immediately following the murder. The girls Juliet and Pauline run screaming up the hill-path to the tea-house, sobbing and covered in blood. The scene is intercut with b&w visions of the two running across a ship deck to meet Dr. and Mrs. Hulme, whom they both refer to as their mother, as the first three exclamations of "Mummy!" demonstrate]
Juliet Hulme: Mummy!
Pauline Parker: Mummy!
Juliet Hulme: Mummmmy!
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to the brave Borovnian extras.

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Connections

Referenced in The 67th Annual Academy Awards (1995)

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Soundtracks

"E Lucevan le Stelle"
Written by Giacomo Puccini (as Puccini)
Performed by Peter Dvorský
Courtesy of Naxos

User Reviews

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

While watching Heavenly Creatures, we bring ourselves to sympathize with two unlikely heroines, and then they betray our trust by committing an unthinkable crime; by the time the film has ended, we feel as if our emotions have been chewed up and spat back out to the degree where we don't know WHAT to feel anymore. Heavenly Creatures is either the greatest act of manipulation ever put on film or a brilliant masterpiece about the dark side of life: personally, I think it's a little bit of both. Either way, I'm still trying to get my pulse to return to its normal rate. Director Peter Jackson (who before this had only made a number of cheap nasty horror movies -- Bad Taste and Braindead being the most popular --, but later became one of the most talked-about film-makers as a result of his film interpretation of The Lord of the Rings) does some remarkable things with bringing this horrendous true story to the screen: not only is this one of the most amazing motion pictures I've ever viewed, but it is one of the most important films to date. Period. Pauline (Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet (Kate Winslet) have developed an inseparable friendship whose intimacy is questioned by their strict parents -- Pauline's being the most stern. As their lives (and our sentiments) are suddenly torn apart, they decide to run off together -- but this could mean having to murder someone. I will not go any further in describing the plot (and I fear that I may already have said too much), not because I want it to surprise you, but because this film is so powerful that I would be doing a disservice to it if I tried to describe it in mere words. Written by Jackson and his real-life spouse, Frances Walsh, the screenplay for Heavenly Creatures is nothing short of remarkable (it even garnered the Academy's attention, earning the film's singular nomination). We both hate and love the two main characters, but most of all we just want them to be happy, to which Jackson and Walsh ask us the question, "at what cost?" Their scenes together -- ESPECIALLY the joyous ones -- are drenched with an unbearable amount of foreboding hopelessness that makes the inevitable conclusion even more tense. In her debut film role, Kate Winslet displays much of the potential she fulfilled later on in her career, but Melanie Lynskey (who has only achieved modest success since) deserves an equal amount of praise -- if not more. By the time we're sucked into the story (which doesn't take long), we forget that they're even acting, and our eyes are peeled to the screen with a voyeuristic intensity that is utterly discomforting. Jackson's direction is simply stunning: his visual depiction of the girls' surreal alternate universe is altogether mesmerizing. Heavenly Creatures is both fascinating and repelling in a way reminiscent of David Lynch's Blue Velvet. But after having written all this, I am still brought to the ultimate conclusion that words cannot contain the experience of viewing this film. There are only a few films that were genuinely painful for me to watch (Neil LaBute's In the Company of Men and Kimberly Pierce's Boys Don't Cry among them), but this is certainly such a film, and I would not recommend it to the faint of heart. This is not a movie you enjoy (and if you do, you should seek psychiatric help), but it is one you will never forget; I know I certainly won't.

Grade: A+