Some of the best movies being made these days are from "down under": The Piano, An Angel at My Table, and Babe are recent noteworthy examples. This weekend I watched Heavenly Creatures on video. I must say it's "my kind of movie."
This is an exquisitely intimate examination of the character and relationships of two teenaged girls who are attending a Catholic school in New Zealand. After the disturbing and ominous opening sequence, the story begins with the arrival at the school of Juliet (Kate Winslet), a beautiful girl from a wealthy family. Juliet oozes audacity. She makes her mark in the school from the beginning by correcting the French of her French teacher. The downtrodden Pauline (Melanie Lynskey), or "Paul," comes from a poor family. She is very attracted by Juliet, seeing in her the possibility of what she herself could become. The girls become friends and visit each other's homes.
The contrast between the wealthy family of Juliet and the poor situation of Paul is striking and touching. It's clear that, in the beginning, both girls are uncomfortable in the other's environment. They end up spending more and more time at Juliet's. Juliet is an extreme romantic and she leads Paul in enacting a ritual wherein they nominate four male actors and singers as their "saints." They also begin to fantasize about what they call "the Royal Family," devising characters, settings, and events in the lives of the characters. They talk about the characters as though they were real people.
When Juliet becomes ill and has to be away in the hospital for two months without visitors, the girls begin an elaborate, daily correspondence which largely consists of the fleshing out of their fantasies about the Royal Family. The most important of their characters is particularly violent, having committed over eighty murders by the age of ten. The relationship between the girls becomes deeper and more passionate, then sexual and obsessive. The movie ends in tragedy, as indeed perhaps it must, given the time and the people involved.
The fantasy life of the girls was presented effectively. Fantasy intrudes into reality, especially at moments of stress, where the violent character is liable to show up to do mayhem, saving Paul from an unpleasant situation. This technique is not new, and was occasionally predictable, but overall it was effective and made a positive contribution.
The acting of the principals was astonishingly good, though the actresses chosen seemed older than the characters they played. The parents are drawn realistically and persuasively, and Paul's mother (Sarah Peirse) has a poignant breakdown scene where it's painfully clear that she thinks that nothing can be done to save her daughter.
One has to think that if the girls simply had been left alone with their love for each other, everything would have turned out much better. The girls might have ended up as committed lesbians, but regardless of how one feels about homosexuality, it must be admitted that such an outcome would be less tragic than what actually occurred. And this is indeed a tragedy. The girls are so attractive in many ways that we can't help wanting them to succeed in whatever form they want their success to take, but we also can see that it simply isn't possible in their situation. Thus it amounts to a strong plea for tolerance of differences and allowing people to find their own way.
When I said it was "my kind of movie," what I had in mind was, this is a very powerful experience, introducing a well-realized world and characters. It offers vicarious living at an extreme level, and it has lessons to teach. At times the suspense is almost unbearable, steadily progressing throughout long stretches, then relieved by an occasional flight of fantasy. As we follow Juliet through one antic moment after another, there is a very wild sense that literally anything can happen, and that it's likely to end badly. I envied the girls' passionate commitment to each other, and hoped that love would conquer all, even as I watched their passion destroying them and their parents. As the madness of the girls deepens and the pressure on them mounts, it becomes painful and frightening for the audience as well. This is a gripping and often disturbing movie, and the ending, for me, was practically unbearable. I can't recall any other movie that affected me so viscerally, or has stayed with me so long. Some viewers will find it too much to handle. The movie is all the more compelling because it's based on a true story, though embellished.
By all means, see this movie. It's going on my all-time top ten list. Don't expect a trip to heaven, however; it's more like a visit to the private hell of two remarkably interesting girls whose madness is both appealing and very sad, as madness often seems.
As a footnote, in Roger Ebert's review he says that it's an open question whether the girls have a homosexual relationship. If he can believe this, he didn't see the version that I saw. Possibly it was edited for theatrical release in the United States; the video that I saw made it completely clear that it was a lesbian relationship.
May 1, 2000; January 2, 2001; May 14, 2001
This move is the most adult (in the best sense), subtle and powerful film I've ever seen. The relentless progression of the characters from "school girls" to "murderers" is the whole point. Their lives were so dismal that they were driven to escape into fantasy (and I see this as a comment on my own life and the lives around me); when that fantasy world was threatened they acted to try to save it. I was drawn into their fantasy world with them, experienced it with them, and wanted it to last while knowing it was doomed. It was this experience I'd guess that made it so affecting to me, and missing out on this experience is what makes it boring to others.
The ending was the most shocking thing I've ever seen, visceral, sickening, as powerful as real life. I saw this movie about eight years ago and haven't been able to watch it since, just because of that ending. Yet the murder is not at all graphic by modern standards... it's just sound effects and imagination. It is my seeing the "murderer within" myself, knowing that I, too, could be capable, that is probably so shocking.
It is inconceivable to me that anyone could find Heavenly Creatures boring, but obviously some do, even while claiming to like "psychological movies." I wonder if they also find Ikiru boring. I don't care to try to explain such reactions (aside from what I said in the first paragraph above), because at best I could only be offensive.
Alan Nicoll
King Art's site, also very good: link
Movies pages by Alan Nicoll