Who is Anne Perry

Heavenly Creatures

Amazon Price: $4.98 (as of 05/28/2012)

Breathtaking!
Heavenly Creatures' is the true story of two school girls in Christchurch, New Zealand who murder one of their mothers when the two families plan to separate them.

Juliet Hulme and Pauline Rieper (later revealed in the trial to be Pauline Parker, as her parents never married) quickly become best friends when Juliet's family moves to Christchurch in 1952. Pauline's family is working class; Juliet is a high-class girl. They're both lonely and creative. Their friendship becomes more obsessive and surreal every day, as they mix reality and fantasy: They create a kingdom called Borovnia, where bloodspill is common and Mario Lanza and Orson Welles make appearances. It is to this world they retreat when they wish to forget the upsets and pains of real life. Juliet and Pauline's parents soon enough become the enemies of the girls, when they plan to separate the girls. Juliet and Pauline will do anything to stay together, Pauline cooks up the idea of getting her own mother out of the way, and you can guess where it goes from there (I won't give away any more of the plot).

The acting in this film is first-rate and marvelous. Kate Winslet, as always, is elegant and gorgeous. Melanie Lynskey is wonderful as Pauline; her body language and mannerisms add much to the story. In the space of only one and a half hours, you feel as if you know Juliet and Pauline as well as they know each other.

(It should be noted that Juliet is now an author, working under the name of Anne Perry. Pauline is now running a children's riding school in England and goes by the name of Hilary Nathan. There are many informative sites on the internet about both the film and the real life events.) -- Emme Wellington, USA

Release Date: 09/24/2002

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