Rating: 
Summary: outstanding black comedy
Review: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is a tight black comedy from Europe and is an enjoyable little gem.Dorothy (Susan Lynch) has just escaped from her controlling and violent relationship with her boyfriend (Iain Glen). After rescuing her dog from a bathful of pink acrylic paint, she sets about trying to rebuild her life. When Dorothy happens upon Petula (Rachel Weisz) being beaten up by her high-corporate lover (Tom Mannion), she attempts to rescue her but ends up killing him. The two women soon find themselves running from the law (and an overzealous private investigator). When Dorothy's boyfriend suddenly reappears, it seems things can't get much worse. Sometimes chilling, sometimes very funny, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is an outstanding low-budget gem that is very enjoyable. Also featuring Maurice Roeves and Alex Norton.
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed Creatures
Review: For some reason, films about women rejecting male violence get compared to 'Thelma and Louise': it would be more appropriate to compare 'Beautiful Creatures' to a traditional English farce ... were it not for its Scottish roots. And therein lies the film's weakness.
Scottish cinema has been gaining a reputation for grittiness and distorted (or deconstructed) realism - 'Trainspotting' is the classic example. Scotland also has a reputation for hard men, hard drinking, and a wickedly, self-deprecating form of gallous humour. It's a tradition which doesn't quite translate to the studied, middle-class slapstick of English farce.
Set in Scotland - although it could as easily have been some concrete Eastern European cityscape - Dorothy (Susan Lynch) and Petula (Rachel Weisz) are two strangers united by their experiences of violence at the hands of drunks. They are not angels. They are no strangers, themselves, to alcohol and chemical voyaging. Petula, at least, seems to enjoy sadomasochistic sex.
But the moral gauntlet is thrown down. Women do not deserve to be battered. No one deserves to be battered. And who can blame the worm for turning? The women blunder into the execution of Petula's bloke.
How then, to dispose of the body? In true life gritty realism, they haven't a clue ... but blunder into reporting him as a kidnap victim. Each, in turn, ups the ante and the stakes get higher.
Enter the police in the form of apparently bungling Inspector Hepburn (Alex Norton). Norton decides to get in on the act. From here on in, the farce spirals out of anyone's control.
It is a funny movie - in places. It could have been a very funny movie ... and a very compelling thriller. The premise is excellent. The characters have real potential. There is plenty of scope to play with the Scottish themes and produce a tartan noir movie which twists and turns like a crazy golf course.
There is a golfing motif running through which pokes fairly seven-ironic fun at the male enthusiast. There is a cruelty to dumb animals motif running through - men are usually the victims, Weiss (playing a blonde) comes in for some of it, and the dog gets shot. All very entertaining really, if you despair of self-important male egos, hate the golf poser, and loathe household pets - it's a pity they don't blow up a few cats!
But it's a movie which is seriously flawed. It starts over slowly. It takes a while to get a fix on the action ... or, indeed, to start feeling sympathy for the two women. I can't approve of violence to women, but simply establishing that the women are in violent relationships doesn't automatically win the viewer's sympathy.
The action doesn't really get going ... it's a bit staccato. The tension isn't really built, the characters not quite developed, the humour not taken to its potential extremes, the climax a bit clumsy.
The saving feature for me was the entry of Alex Norton. He's a fine actor - he could play anything from a cuddly uncle to a deranged murderer. He gives a beautifully controlled performance as the manipulative, murderous golfing detective. His role actually knits the movie together - he could have taken over the way Alan Rickman does as a villain.
The weakness is in the editing. Had this script been tightened up a little, had it been allowed a touch more sophistication rather than a dumbing down, this could have been an excellent movie. In fact, for anyone interested in writing a screenplay ... or writing a short story or novel ... 'Beautiful Creatures' is well worth studying. It is well written. But spot the flaws! How could you have improved it?
The performances are excellent. Norton is superb. Susan Lynch is a fine actor; Weisz provides an excellent sparring partner. Maurice Roeves is a gritty heavy. And there's even a neat little cameo performance from Robin Laing. An excellent cast. A flawed movie, but one which is worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed Creatures
Review: For some reason, films about women rejecting male violence get compared to `Thelma and Louise': it would be more appropriate to compare `Beautiful Creatures' to a traditional English farce ... were it not for its Scottish roots. And therein lies the film's weakness.
Scottish cinema has been gaining a reputation for grittiness and distorted (or deconstructed) realism - `Trainspotting' is the classic example. Scotland also has a reputation for hard men, hard drinking, and a wickedly, self-deprecating form of gallous humour. It's a tradition which doesn't quite translate to the studied, middle-class slapstick of English farce.
Set in Scotland - although it could as easily have been some concrete Eastern European cityscape - Dorothy (Susan Lynch) and Petula (Rachel Weisz) are two strangers united by their experiences of violence at the hands of drunks. They are not angels. They are no strangers, themselves, to alcohol and chemical voyaging. Petula, at least, seems to enjoy sadomasochistic sex.
But the moral gauntlet is thrown down. Women do not deserve to be battered. No one deserves to be battered. And who can blame the worm for turning? The women blunder into the execution of Petula's bloke.
How then, to dispose of the body? In true life gritty realism, they haven't a clue ... but blunder into reporting him as a kidnap victim. Each, in turn, ups the ante and the stakes get higher.
Enter the police in the form of apparently bungling Inspector Hepburn (Alex Norton). Norton decides to get in on the act. From here on in, the farce spirals out of anyone's control.
It is a funny movie - in places. It could have been a very funny movie ... and a very compelling thriller. The premise is excellent. The characters have real potential. There is plenty of scope to play with the Scottish themes and produce a tartan noir movie which twists and turns like a crazy golf course.
There is a golfing motif running through which pokes fairly seven-ironic fun at the male enthusiast. There is a cruelty to dumb animals motif running through - men are usually the victims, Weiss (playing a blonde) comes in for some of it, and the dog gets shot. All very entertaining really, if you despair of self-important male egos, hate the golf poser, and loathe household pets - it's a pity they don't blow up a few cats!
But it's a movie which is seriously flawed. It starts over slowly. It takes a while to get a fix on the action ... or, indeed, to start feeling sympathy for the two women. I can't approve of violence to women, but simply establishing that the women are in violent relationships doesn't automatically win the viewer's sympathy.
The action doesn't really get going ... it's a bit staccato. The tension isn't really built, the characters not quite developed, the humour not taken to its potential extremes, the climax a bit clumsy.
The saving feature for me was the entry of Alex Norton. He's a fine actor - he could play anything from a cuddly uncle to a deranged murderer. He gives a beautifully controlled performance as the manipulative, murderous golfing detective. His role actually knits the movie together - he could have taken over the way Alan Rickman does as a villain.
The weakness is in the editing. Had this script been tightened up a little, had it been allowed a touch more sophistication rather than a dumbing down, this could have been an excellent movie. In fact, for anyone interested in writing a screenplay ... or writing a short story or novel ... `Beautiful Creatures' is well worth studying. It is well written. But spot the flaws! How could you have improved it?
The performances are excellent. Norton is superb. Susan Lynch is a fine actor; Weisz provides an excellent sparring partner. Maurice Roeves is a gritty heavy. And there's even a neat little cameo performance from Robin Laing. An excellent cast. A flawed movie, but one which is worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: An unpredictable dark comedy Pulp Fiction fans will love!
Review: I saw this movie with a little hesitation. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I had read sounded all too interesting. And from the beginning, I was completely enjoying it. The dark comedy stars Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Chain Reaction) and Susan Lynch (Waking Ned Devine) as two women trapped in bad relationships. The two meet by accident, when Dorothy (Lynch) stumbles across Petula (Weisz) being beaten by her boyfriend. As the boyfriend begins choking Petula, Dorothy realizes she must help her. Acting on instinct, Dorothy grabs a large pipe and whacks the man in the head. The two take the unconscious man back to Dorothy's apartment. There, the two introduce themselves. When the boyfriend wakes up, he falls from the bathtub (where Petula and Dorothy had placed him for the time being) he bangs his head. Now Petula and Dorothy have a dead body to deal with. Not just some man either. Petula's boyfriend is the younger brother of a very wealthy and very powerful man. Determined to shift the blame away from themselves, (accident or not) the two conceive a plan not only to get off scotch free, but to get some money in the process, demanding a ransom from the older brother. But problems only get worse for the two. When the ransom is stated, the two now have to dodge a sneaky detective fond of Petula, Dorothy's druggie boyfriend, a severed finger and a very scary older brother! I found myself thoroughly entertained. Weisz is absolutely superb as Petula. Not quite the brightest crayon in the box, she adds a lot of comic relief. Her abilities are definitely NOT limited to mummy flicks.
Lynch is perfect as Dorothy. I had seen Waking Ned Devine, but had not heard much of Lynch sense, but she was great. She's believable in her acting and I thought no one could play Dorothy better. The movie has feeling of "Thelma and Louis," minus the road trip. I found myself laughing through the movie, moved by Petula and Dorothy's self-struggles to stay with their boyfriends, and on the edge of my seat with a very thrilling and unpredictable plot. I would definitely recommend the movie to anyone who liked Pulp Fiction, or, of course, Thelma & Louis.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Little Yarn
Review: If you've thought that Rachel Weisz could never be lovelier, then BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is for you! A far cry from the popcorn MUMMY films, Rachel Weisz puts on serious acting chops to play Petula, the abused girlfriend of a local thug. When Dorothy (played wonderfully by the Susan Lynch) witnesses Petula nearly being strangled by the man, she tries to intervene. Unsuccessful in her attempt to help, she is shoved aside into a construction site ... where she finds a wonderful lead pipe that finishes the trick. Together, the women drag the dead man back to Dorothy's apartment, where they make initial plans to make the disappearance look like a kidnapping attempt ... but the machinations of a wilely detective inspector and the abusive man's father lead the girls to a wild series of events, each less predictable than the one before. Brilliantly photography, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES makes great use of the principals as well as a wonderful soundtrack to send this fancy little caper flick into its twists and turns. While much of the humor is dark, the film also boasts some light moments, most of which center around Pluto, Dorothy's dog, who inadvertantly turns pink from a meeting with paint gone bad.
Rating:
Summary: Darkly Funny...
Review: In an interview Rachel Weisz said that with this film you will either love it or hate it. I belong to the camp that loved it. The primary reason I went to see this film was Weisz herself, since she is one of my favorite actresses. I was pleasntly surprised to find myself laughing through so much of the movie. The premise really isn't something new. It's like "Thelma & Louise" without the road trip, funnier, and I liked it better. Dorothy and Petula date mean, nasty men. It seems all men in this film are mean and nasty. One night, while tryin to escape her boyfriend Tony, Dorothy happens on Petula who is being strangled by her boyfriend Brian. Nice fellah, eh? She saves her by whacking Brian with a pipe. They decide to let him sleep it off in Dorothy's bath tub. Brian falls and dies. The girls have to go through and try and do something to get the blame away from them. They cannot let anyone know that they killed him, even if it was an accident. Dorothy happens on the idea of faking a kidnap and ransom plot. Along the way some more nasty men come into the picture. This is a funny film and what makes it so is the performances given by Weisz and her co-star Susan Lynch. Both are perfect for their roles and their scenes together are great. But so are the other scenes. Dorothy is the level headed, smart one and Lynch can play that very well, balancing that and Dorothy's fear. The scene where Tony comes back and confronts them is fantastic. Weisz has shown that she is a fine comedic actress and you have to do a double take when you see her as a blonde. She's shown us that she has a very wide range. I don't know that I could recommend this to many people. All I can say is that I found it to be very funny and would gladly see it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Not One Character
Review: Is worth rootting for in this picture. The women are suppose to be pretty nieve murders. The men all corrupt. So because the men are bad guys that makes it okay for these women to get away with murder. To many movie are given 5 stars that are not deserving. This is one of them. 5 star rating are for great movie's. Movie's that you want to watch time and again. This movie I put on fast forward. I fell we should be a little more discerning. Because if movie's like this is given 5 star's and we do not speak up; we then deserve what we get. I like a good film noir. But to many times I have read a excellent review and come away wondering what the person saw in the picture. So don't take the bait just because you like a good mystery. This movie is predictable and has very little suspence.
Rating:
Summary: Darkly Funny Story about Beauty & Beast & a 50 % Acrylic Dog
Review: Set in Glassgow, Scotland, "Beautiful Creatures" may be referred to, like, as "Thelma and Louise" in UK. Or "Lock, Stock..." in female version. Or something like that. The fact is, the film has an uneven quality that makes every viewer confused after seeing it. Whatever the various reaction might be, the greatest assets of the film are the two leading ladies, who deserve nomination for BAFTA. Susan Lynch playes Dorothy, who, on the way from running away from her violent boyfriend, happens to save Petula from being beaten by her (Petula's) boyfriend on the road. As one guy drops dead (and refuses to go away), they develop their friendship, trying to fend off their mutual enemy, using some outrageous plan of fake kidnapping. As this short plot summery shows, the two females (beautiful creatures) are set against a bunch of nasty males, most of whom come after Petula and Dorothy to exploit them for money or whatever you may guess. This is the point where the audiences' opinions devide, as some may take it as typical expression of hatred against women in general, and some may call it a good example of dark humor. In whichever way you may feel, I don't know, but I was certainly very uncomfortable watching some of the scenes in which grim violence is depicted on the screen, especially when the other scenes are devoted to humorous descriptions of the two likable female characters played by Ms. Lynch and Ms. Weisz with aptly expressed serio-comic humor. This uneven tone of the film, I think, cause many viewers to complain with some justification, and sorry, I was one of them. The fans of the two leading ladies, however, will find very good performance from the both players, and they may feel a little relieved after watching Rechel Weisz (with blonde hair) caring a pinkish dog, or her conversation with Susan Lynch over cell phone about their ad-lib planning of kidnapping. Surely the female parts should deserve good reviews, and if you love (like me) Ms. Weisz's comic talent in "The Mummy" franchize, you will again fall in love with her. Watch them. Watch those lovely creatures, because they are really beautiful, and sometimes funny, too.
Rating:
Summary: Darkly Funny Story about Beauty & Beast & a 50 % Acrylic Dog
Review: Set in Glassgow, Scotland, "Beautiful Creatures" may be referred to, like, as "Thelma and Louise" in UK. Or "Lock, Stock..." in female version. Or something like that. The fact is, the film has an uneven quality that makes every viewer confused after seeing it. Whatever the various reaction might be, the greatest assets of the film are the two leading ladies, who deserve nomination for BAFTA. Susan Lynch playes Dorothy, who, on the way from running away from her violent boyfriend, happens to save Petula from being beaten by her (Petula's) boyfriend on the road. As one guy drops dead (and refuses to go away), they develop their friendship, trying to fend off their mutual enemy, using some outrageous plan of fake kidnapping. As this short plot summery shows, the two females (beautiful creatures) are set against a bunch of nasty males, most of whom come after Petula and Dorothy to exploit them for money or whatever you may guess. This is the point where the audiences' opinions devide, as some may take it as typical expression of hatred against women in general, and some may call it a good example of dark humor. In whichever way you may feel, I don't know, but I was certainly very uncomfortable watching some of the scenes in which grim violence is depicted on the screen, especially when the other scenes are devoted to humorous descriptions of the two likable female characters played by Ms. Lynch and Ms. Weisz with aptly expressed serio-comic humor. This uneven tone of the film, I think, cause many viewers to complain with some justification, and sorry, I was one of them. The fans of the two leading ladies, however, will find very good performance from the both players, and they may feel a little relieved after watching Rechel Weisz (with blonde hair) caring a pinkish dog, or her conversation with Susan Lynch over cell phone about their ad-lib planning of kidnapping. Surely the female parts should deserve good reviews, and if you love (like me) Ms. Weisz's comic talent in "The Mummy" franchize, you will again fall in love with her. Watch them. Watch those lovely creatures, because they are really beautiful, and sometimes funny, too.
Rating:
Summary: The movie has style
Review: Sometimes the plot is not important and sometimes neither is acting. I actually found the acting in this movie quite mediocre. Nonetheless, all this is not important. The movie has style and you can see this from the start. It is quite rare and I value this very much.
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