Almas Gêmeas

In 1952 Christchurch, New Zealand, 14-year-old Pauline Yvonne Parker (Melanie Lynskey) is a bitter introverted student from an all-girls school. Juliet Marion Hulme (Kate Winslet) is the flamboyant new girl from England. Pauline forms a friendship with Juliet obsessed with their imaginary Fourth World. Juliet's parents abandon her in the hospital with TB. Pauline's mother becomes concerned about her rebellious turn and the girls' possible homosexuality.

These are two amazing performances. Lynskey is a wonderful weird introvert. The girls bring out the desperation of puberty coming-of-age. Director Peter Jackson brings out an interesting imaginary world. The movie brings out an early sign of wonder things to come.

Lesbian murderers ? I'm sort of guessing that I might not like this movie very much . No doubt we'll be seeing some polemical do gooder film maker with zero talent making a movie where anyone who gets murdered by the gay girls probably asked for it because they were a rabid homophobe

That was my abstract opinion of HEAVENLY CREATURES when it was released to some critical acclaim ten years ago , with much of the acclaim going to writer/director Peter Jackson whose previous gory horror comedies I'd enjoyed . Yeah the guy was talented I remember thinking , but in a liberal climate we'd no doubt be hearing a myriad of excuses via the film for the girls crime and it was this attitude that stopped me from watching the movie until it was broadcast on BBC 2 tonight

I was fooling myself if I thought Jackson was going to make a bad movie . This is another piece of heart melting , intelligent movie making from the Kiwi genius and I'm sorry for doubting Jackson for a moment . What Jackson has done has made a movie where it's difficult to think of the two protagonists as " lesbian lovers " , Pauline Reiper and Juliet Hulme are two teenagers who love each other full stop and the screenplay doesn't once make any excuses for anything that happens , we're not supposed to feel disgusted by their relationship , we're not supposed to feel that they are victims in any way and we're not supposed to feel that a conservative , homophobic society is to blame for what happened . Jackson deserves much credit for making an amoral movie without an agenda , it's up to the free thinking audience to make up their own minds on the case. Take for example the murder of Mrs Rieper who kindly takes the girls to a tea house then for a walk in the countryside . It's difficult not to notice that if she'd been an uncaring cruel dragon with absolutely no conscience the girls wouldn't have had an opportunity to murder the woman .

It's also a movie that captures the spirit of being a teenager in love . When for whatever reason you have to say goodbye to your first love it's the end of the world . You'll do anything to stop it happening - ANYTHING - and you won't forgive anyone who caused it to happen . Fantasy sequences similar to the ones shown here are also a staple diet of the teenage mind and if you disagree with me you're either being dishonest or you're under twelve years of age . Believe me this movie reminded me , perhaps a little too much , of my own teenage angst

Jackson also deserves credit for his casting Melanie Lynskey and ( A then totally unknown ) Kate Winslet as Pauline and Juliet . Neither of them can be described as strikingly attractive and you do have to worry who we would have got instead if this was a Hollywood production , but they play the star crossed lovers with absolute conviction , as indeed do the rest of the cast

HEAVENLY CREATURES is beautiful , haunting , thoughtful and incisive . With the exception of Martin Scorsese I rate Peter Jackson as the world's greatest living film maker and HEAVENLY CREATURES is the first movie that showed the true greatness Jackson is capable of

I really liked this film. Like the overwhelming majority of people, I didn't know about the real crime behind the story of this film, where the friendship between two teenagers turns into a sexual and romantic obsession and leads the two young women to kill the mother of one of them, in hope that they can run away or stay together.

Directed by Peter Jackson, still a long way from dreaming that he would be as successful as "The Lord of the Rings", the film is excellent and does a great job in terms of recreating the events and psychology of the two central characters. Of course, according to what I've read, the facts are not entirely clear as to the nature of the relationship the two girls had, but it seems quite clear that, at the very least, there was a very strong obsession between them and a certain dissociation from reality. , through the creation of a fantasy alternative world that functioned as an escape. The film shows us this clearly and manages to maintain a certain ambiguity where it seems most necessary.

This was the debut film for young Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynksey. None of them seem exactly like newcomers or inexperienced in the cinematographic art, which can only be a revealing parameter of talent, and of the great qualities that both have revealed since then, most especially Winslet, who has dedicated more time to cinema and achieved a different level of recognition. In addition to them, we also have the excellent performances by Sarah Peirse, Clive Morrison and Diana Kent, in the role of three of the paternal figures.

Technically, the film doesn't have any major problems. The pace is ideal, there are no dead moments or situations that seem to be too much or to have been stilted, and the editing is very good and well executed. The cinematography is excellent, with great color and light, particularly in the fantasy scenes, where we enter the fantastic world that these young women created for themselves. The sets are good and, together with the costumes, recreate the period portrayed with verisimilitude. The filming locations are magnificent, very well selected and used. The soundtrack is equally good.

I was both really shocked and mesmerized at this film. The film is sort of an open-minded story about a real-life event, told in a fantasy genre. Peter Jackson's direction is simply phenomenal. The way he tells this story, he does not want it to be a regular thriller, or fantasy, he lingers in both. He manages to create a sort of scary, yet beautiful account of this event. The way he captures the girls' imaginations on screen is simply spellbinding. The characters themselves are brought to life so effortlessly, so magically realized, thanks to the magnificent screenplay. Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet are so great together. Their chemistry, their power together, it is so well captured. But it is Kate Winslet who shines more. This was her first big movie role, and I believe it is what started her amazing movie career. She is simply magnificent. She steals every scene she is in. She was robbed of an Oscar nomination for sure. The cinematography of the film is also what caught my eye. The camera-work is done differently than other films. It is so magnificent though, but it might annoy some people who like 'steady' shots.

Overall, I cannot really out into words how extraordinary this film is. It is enough just to see it. It is probably one of the most memorable films of 90s. One of the most haunting. It is a must-see, and probably Peter Jackson's masterpiece(It is altogether more affecting than the Lord of the Rings)

I understand why teenage girls would like this movie--the thrilling rush of new found deep friendship tied together with nascent sexuality and all that comes with it...the defying of the confines of the world around them...the incredible power of unfettered creativity and self-delusional belief...

What's amazing is that a jaded thirty-something man like myself would consider it to be his favorite film of all time. Peter Jackson shows a deftness in handling interpersonal characterizations and blending in amazing special effects in a way that seems so natural...so fluid...that you while you're awed by what you see, you're not so aware of the process that you're distracted. The oh-so-1993 effect of "morphing" is used better here than any other film (save, perhaps, Terminator 2--but in that movie, the morphing WAS the film...when here, it is merely one element.)

The direction is exemplary. The cinematography is awe inspiring. The script is sharp. The acting...down the line...is superb. Melanie Lynskey delivers a brave performance--giddy, childish, frightening, sexual, clouded... She's everything Christina Ricci pretends to be. Kate Winslet--hyper-bright and wonderful...her performance here reminds you that her "Titanic" performance was "sunk" (sorry!) by the extremely poor dialogue she was given. Her character's overly cheerful demeanor is a mask that covers her disappointment in her parents--but it's extended so far that it no longer seems like a mask...it seems to be a force of nature that drags Lynskey's Pauline along for a dangerous ride...a ride that Winslet's Juliet is in no position to control. There are crisp performances from all of the supporting cast as well.

Jackson should be listed with Gilliam and even Lynch when it comes to directors who can achieve a glorious, if dark, vision. The fact that Jackson's movies (save for "Meet the Feebles") are mainstream accessible--in ways that Lynch, especially, could barely consider (although "The Frighteners" was painfully overlooked by the US market)--makes me wish that he'd try his hand at more mainstream material.

Imagine what a Peter Jackson "Titanic" would have been like...and compare that to what a James Cameron "Heavenly Creatures" would have been like and you get my point.