‘Heavenly Creatures’, 1994

Director: Peter Jackson.
Script: Frances Walsh, Peter Jackson.
Starring: Melanie Lynksey (Pauline), Kate Winslet (Juliet), Diana Kent (Hilda), and Sarah Peirse (Honora).
Production: Jim Both, for WingNut Films, with Fontana Film Productions and New Zealand Film Commission.
Length: 108’
Awards: Silver Lion, Venice International Film Festival (1994). The movie was also nominated in the category of Best Original Screenplay by the Academy (1994)

The film is based on the true story of Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, two close friends whose are obsessed with each other. After a doctor tells Honora (Paulina’s mum) that she is homosexual, Juliet’s parents decide to separate them and take Juliet to South Africa. They let them spend their last 3 weeks together. So desperate they were that Juliet accepts Pauline’s proposal of killing her mother. On June 11^th, 1954 they kill Honora in Victoria Park, beating her head with a brick.

The Police used Pauline’s diary as evidence and they were put in different jails until they were released under the condition of never seeing each other again.

Heavenly Creatures caused a debate on the ethics of using the misfortune of others as dramatic material. Despite of this, international and national critiques showed their enthusiasm for the film.