The name Peter Jackson is synonymous with fantasy, thanks to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but this has not always been the case. One of Jackson’s earliest films, Heavenly Creatures, exhibits his familiar talents in a much more subdued and disturbing manner.
Heavenly Creatures tells the tale of — as its tagline states — “a crime that shocked a nation.” Pauline (Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet (a pre-Titanic Kate Winslet), two young schoolgirls, are both outcasts with rampant imaginations. Eventually, they find each other and form an unwavering bond. The girls constantly recede into their own delusional fantasy world, and, as the film progresses, their mental states deteriorate causing them to commit a heinous and shocking crime.
What’s most striking about Heavenly Creatures is Jackson’s fearlessness as he paints his picture of Pauline and Juliet. He offers such an unflinching gaze into their warped minds that it is almost unsettling. What is remarkable, though, is that Jackson does not judge his subjects nor make them look like monsters. Fantasy is used delicately and beautifully here as a way to understand just how disturbed the girls are.
