Heavenly Creatures: Peter Jackson

This should not have been such an entertaining movie.  After all, it's about two young women in New Zealand who grow curiously close to each other and kill one of their mothers when they are threatened with separation.  But Peter Jackson's masterful direction transformed Heavenly Creatures into a film of exuberant joy and heartbreaking tragedy.  Armed with his hyperactive camera and cheap, yet convincing special effects (no doubt picked up during his days as a low budget horror film-maker), Jackson transforms the audience into a third member of their private club.  Of course, Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet must be given every accolade for their masterful performances.  Both acted beyond their years in both skill and maturity.  But I think that it all comes down to Jackson's direction.  Because he was trained in low-budget B-movies, he knew how to keep audiences engrossed and entertained, even with such morose subject matter.  Not for one instant does Heavenly Creatures seem contrived or over-acted.  People wonder how Jackson was picked to direct the massive Lord of the Rings trilogy with only a few films under his belt.  I think it is safe to say that Heavenly Creatures is chiefly responsible for that choice...and a good one it was, indeed.

9/10