Rating: 
Summary: Heavenly Movie
Review: This is one of the most spell binding films you are likely to see. It is a rollercoaster ride of emotions that keep you on tender hooks all through the film.
The film is loosely based upon the Hulme/parker murder case of the 50's. Set in Christchurch, Newzeland, Hulme and Parker are two girls aged 15, who dont fit in. They form a fantasy world so vivid that they are engrosed in it and eachother. It is only when they are to be seperated that things go fataly wrong. An outstanding debut from the wonderful miss Winslet makes this film a feast for the eyes, and Lynskey also proves to be an outstanding actress in her debut.
The film has a fresh air to it, and also sympathises with the two outcasts, so that you can almost see how such a tragedy could occour.
Jacksons direction is fantastic, and a brilliant sountrack is the icing on a perfectly baked cake!
I wont spoil it for you, but if you want a night of pure enjoyment, buy this...go on!!
Rating:
Summary: My Absolute favorite of all time...
Review: I will admit, I saw it after Titanic, but had heard
about it in blurbs here and there. Seeing as how
everyone else's reviews (for the most part) merely
describe plot, etc., I will merely say that I've seen
this film, my absolute favorite, at least 30 times,
and for the most part cry EVERY time. Some of the
scenes give me sniffles, but the closing fantasy vs
reality scene has made me bawl my eyes out once for
15 minutes straight. Sounds weird, but I'm a 30 yr
old guy, and COMPLETELY identify with Pauline
(Melanie Lynsky's character).
To me, (with the possible exception of Before Sunrise)
this film is the best, most convincing love story
ever put to film. I could go on and on about how
much I completely adore and wholeheartedly love this
film, but I'm probably boring you by now. Suffice it
to say, if you've never seen it, give it a chance to
seep into your subconscious, and there it will remain
for quite some time to come.
Rating: 
Summary: A reel sleeper.
Review: This is a wierd, artsy film containing no meaningful story or plot. Something "they" would have MADE us watch in highschool. This film follows two young women who find in each other refuge from the rest of the world. A world full of evil parents, evil schoolmates, and your basic evil Christians. I could not relate to the characters in any way, and certainly not their ultimate agreed-upon goal at the end. A complete waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Twisted...
Review: I was deeply disturbed after viewing this film. Two girls meet, become best friends, then fall in love. But even then, their relationship goes deeper than love/homosexuality. It becomes so obsessive that Pauline is not complete without Juliet, nor is Juliet without Pauline. They are both apparently psychotic, as in one scene Pauline even admits that they are both "stark, raving mad!" But killing her mother to be with Juliet? Awful. She views her mother, like she views everyone else, like a pawn, a thing, not a person. The murder scene disturbed me extremely. You can imagine what sorts of emotions they were feeling. They wished they'd never started, but they know they can't leave the horrible deed unfinished. What drives them to keep going is their intense need for each other. But it doesn't turn out like they'd hoped or thought. The end is gloomy and upsetting. Warning: You may be disturbed to tears.
Rating:
Summary: Peter Jackson's sleeper classic
Review: HEAVENLY CREATURES was a classic long before "The Lord of the Rings" troligy and was much more effective. The film is about two teenage girls living in New Zealand- Pauline Rieper (Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet) who become the very best of friends. Turing their time together they write a novel, work with clay, and discover sex for the first time. Juliet's parents are getting a divorce and she must leave the country and live in South Africa for a while. Pauline pleads to her mother for her permission to go to Africa with Juliet but she says no. The two girls create more than just a story- they plot a murder to get rid of Mrs. Rieper during their last days together. This movie is simply excellent, not to be missed, and most of all: effective!
Rating:
Summary: A Film with Resonance
Review: I will always wonder what I would have thought of HEAVENLY CREATURES had I seen it when it came out rather than now, after Columbine. This film is based on the true story of two adolescent girls in New Zealand in the 1950s who kill the mother of one of them. The crime was shocking and like latterday Americans, the New Zealanders must have staggered about saying, we just did not see it coming and how could two girls from nice families do this? It is precisely that question that the filmmakers seek to answer and, in a very original way, succeed at.The film follows the girls from the point they meet in the restrictive girls' school they attend to the moment of the crime. In between it reveals two very intelligent misfits who are drawn to each other as if by a fierce law of physics. Such is their affinity that they invent a fantasy world and inhabit it so intensely as to be able to envision exactly what the other sees in their minds. Their bond and fantasies affect their judgment, throwing the usual excesses of emerging pubescence off kilter. When events in their families' lives begin to insert themselves in such a way to threaten a separation of the two friends, they decide to remove the perceived obstacle in their path to togetherness. It would have been safe to suggest the mystery of the fantasy world but this film shows it concretely. The clay figures the girls fashion to depict their characters are seen coming to life so that the audience also sees what they see and share. There is wit, too, in the depiction of the very normal aspects of the girls' experiences with school and families. In the end, the power of the film comes in the realization that no one aspect of the girls' lives is any different or less sympathetic than the stuff of many coming of age stories, it's just that in this case they were sucked into a vortex so powerful that it knocked out all the emotional safety catches. The line between angel and monster is a very thin one and that is very scary. That one of the girls is revealed to have become a well-known, successful personage in her adulthood just adds to the perplexity. All the artistic ducks are in a row behind this production. Acting, direction, cinematography, sound: all check out. Disturbing but fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Chilling, Yet Oddly Romantic - A Psychological View
Review: Based on the true story of the relationship between Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet) and Pauline Yvonne Parker/Reiper (Melanie Lynskey). I believe there is too much emphasis placed on the actual murder of Pauline's mother, Honora Parker, even though the murder itself is why this movie was made. Although of course a very important aspect of the movie, it is not the movie entirely, and not the most important aspect of the girl's relationship. In essense, this is a story of two teenaged girls who quite literally fall in love with each other, and who live in a society (early 1950's New Zealand) which would not and could not cope with homosexuality. They began as friends, becoming so because they enjoyed the same things, namely the arts of all varieties. They liked each other because of their similarities, and as they both also enjoyed fantasy, they slowly created a fantasy world only they could enter and understand. I believe they created this fantasy world not only because they probably thought it exciting and a test for their very high intellects, but also because their world made them feel safe from society. Although homosexuality was hardly mentioned during that time - as Glamuzina and Laurie's book "Parker & Hulme A Lesbian View" discusses - the girls still knew the nature of their relationship would not be tolerated by society. A testament to this is referred to in Pauline's diary,(the movie is based in a large part on the writings), where she says something to the effect that she and Juliet could not sleep together on a particular night because they were afraid Juliet's father might walk in on them. They were best friends, and they were in love with each other; they shared a love that few could understand, and fewer have experienced because it was so pure and innocent. I believe that is why this movie has captivated so many people. They created their fantasy world in attempt to hide their love for each other from society, and even though they loved each other so deeply, when they slept together (as the movie shows), they started out pretending one or the other was a "saint", which was always a man, which helped them accept the act that they were engaging in; they did this because society's insinuation of 'this is wrong' was constantly in the back of their minds. The murder occured because the threat of being parted occured - they could not live without each other.... In the end, in Juliet's words: "It's all frightfully romantic!"
Rating: 
Summary: Riveting, Lyrical Drama From Peter Jackson
Review: The true story of two teenaged girls living in New Zealand in the early '50s, "Heavenly Creatures," directed by Peter Jackson, is a riveting, sometimes intense drama that examines the fast friendship between Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet), and the effects of that friendship, on not only themselves, but on their families and friends as well. From a working class family, at fourteen, Pauline was shy and prone to introspection, recording her most intimate thoughts daily in a diary. Originally from England, Juliet was the new girl in town; from a well-to-do family, she was well traveled, her father a professor of some stature. Gregarious and outgoing, she was also given to flights of fancy, all of which appealed to Pauline immediately. Brash and vivacious, Juliet was everything Pauline would never be; and Pauline was writing a novel, an endeavor in which Juliet quickly joined her. Together, they would write and act out their romantic notions of brave knights and fair ladies, and Juliet shared with Pauline her knowledge of "The Fourth World," a place to which she would one day go instead of heaven. By the time they were fifteen, they were virtually inseparable. They were "best" friends in every sense of the word. Director Jackson does a magnificent job of taking you into the world of Pauline and Juliet. By contrasting the reality with the fantasy, he gives you an excellent sense of what they were all about, how they related to one another (as well as to others), and most importantly, their collective mind set which enabled them to actually embark upon their chosen path. the girls' dream world is presented with a lyrical style that makes the happy times uplifting, and enhances the impact when things turn dark. Throughout the film, passages are read verbatim from Pauline's diaries, which adds such stark realism to the events as they unfold, that in the end it produces a veritable sense of awe. To see the things depicted here in a movie is one thing, but when you stop and think about the fact that two such "normal" young girls were capable of doing what they did, it is indeed sobering. And when you learn what finally became of Pauline and Juliet, it merely adds to the incredulity of it all. This film marked the screen debuts of Winslet and Lynskey, and in Winslet's case, this film could have been subtitled "A Star Is Born." From the opening frames, in which her talent, beauty and charismatic screen presence are readily apparent, there was no doubt as to the direction her career would soon be taking. In retrospect, this was a great role with which to jump start her career, and she grabbed the opportunity with both hands and created a truly memorable character, using her natural poise and charm to the ultimate effect. Winslet not only played the character, she discovered the spirit that moved Juliet and used it to the fullest extent to bring her to life here. It's a genuinely auspicious and incredible performance. That Lynskey hasn't fared as well in her career as Winslet has since this film was made is in no way a reflection upon her performance in it. Pauline is perfectly realized by Lynskey, but due to the more solemn nature of the character, it was almost as if she was predestined to be overshadowed here by Winslet. But the credit for making the on screen relationship between the girls work so well, and the fact that it is so believable, has to be distributed equally between the two actresses. And it was Lynskey's ability to evoke and surround herself with an ambience of darkness that allowed Winslet's light to shine so brightly. The supporting cast includes Sarah Peirse (Honora), Diana Kent (Hilda), Clive Merrison (Henry), Simon O'Connor (Herbert), Jed Brophy (John), Peter Elliott (Bill), Gilbert Goldie (Dr. Bennett) and Kirsti Ferry (Wendy). Watching such extraordinary circumstances being played out so matter-of-factly by such seemingly ordinary people can be a thought provoking experience, but in the case of "Heavenly Creatures," it's profoundly disturbing. There's nothing quite so jarring as realizing the facility with which certain boundaries can in fact be traversed, and when it happens, it's like a slap in the face from reality. And that's what this film does. It's an engrossing tale that will prick up the hairs on your neck of awareness, and stay with you long after the screen has gone dark.
Rating:
Summary: Very disturbing, but very good!
Review: Heavenly Creatures is the disturbing true tale of two girls whose inspirational love leads to parental conflict and matricide. I loved this film because I felt left out at school, still dreaming about magicalthings, and fed up because i wasn't one of the girls who heard the word 'fantasy' and burst into high-pitched giggles. Juliet is a character some girls may sympathise with-the spoilt, parentally starved young snob who is used to getting her own way no matter what, but I relate to Paul, living in a simple, strict family system where you work for a living, and she yearsn to break free and realise her own mind. I think the scenes of Borovnia, the plasticene kingdom, were a bit bland and boring though, and the castle and its many people seemed a bit restricted-there could have been more work there. I also think there should have been more tantalising glimpses of the 'Fourth World' not just an English garden and big butterfly's. All in all i rate this film five stars-and add that I think its a bit unjust that Juliet is now millionaire mystery writer Anne Perry and there is no sign of Pauline, without whose diaries this story would not have been recognised.
Rating:
Summary: I laughed because I am crazy
Review: The film is extremely disturbing, and it is a piece of art. But unlike most people, I felt that I could relate with their urning to find somewhere magical. And for some reason I found some of the scenes (Orson Welles, and the last scene) remarkably funny. Not for the light hearted or stupid. Ummmm ok that is all.
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