THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 24, 1995 TAG: 9502240061
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
THE MOST startling murder case in the history of New Zealand is about to become the most baffling murder case in Hampton Roads.
It was called ``the notorious Parker-Hulme affair.'' Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, two teenage girls who were intense and inseparable friends, killed one of their parents.
``Mad or Bad?'' ``Insane or just plain mean?'' screamed newspaper headlines of the day.
``Heavenly Creatures,'' the surprise hit movie about the case, arrives today on the heels of an Oscar nomination for its screenplay and critical raves for the two unknown actresses who took on the roles.
``Everyone in New Zealand had heard something of the case. Everyone wanted to see it,'' said Melanie Lynskey, the 17-year-old actress who plays the ``plain'' girl, Pauline Parker. ``It's a famous case, even though it occurred some 40 years ago, in the '50s. It was no surprise that it became the biggest moneymaking movie in Australia and New Zealand, but we didn't know if it would be a hit in the United States. It's a rather different kind of movie to be a hit here.''
``Heavenly Creatures'' is not a whodunit. There is no mystery about who did it. ``Why?'' is the issue. This is a murder story about love; there are no villains.
Pauline Parker was a shy, plain girl living in a small New Zealand town who became friends with Juliet, a pretty, charming English newcomer. Together, they listened to Mario Lanza records and wrote intricate ``novels'' in which they made up their own religion and their own world - Borovnia, a medieval fantasy kingdom full of princes and princesses.
They were inseparable and seemingly angelic girls. Hints of lesbianism surfaced. The case, in 1954, caused national hysteria in New Zealand and Australia, where teen girls were suddenly forbidden even to hold hands or to develop any close friendships.
The case is still very much alive in New Zealand. To cast Pauline Parker, producers undertook a nationwide search there that rivaled America's own obsession with casting Scarlett O'Hara. Lynskey was hired just three weeks before the film was to begin shooting, after 175 young women had auditioned.
Kate Winslet, 19, a stunning blonde, was an early choice to play the outgoing and effervescent Juliet.
``I think the movie is incredibly sympathetic to the two girls,'' Winslet said. ``It's not about a murder, but about a friendship. Personally, I think it is wonderful that they found each other.''
The film was shot in the town and even in the classroom where the real-life Pauline and Juliet lived and studied. ``Some people didn't welcome us there,'' Winslet said. ``They didn't relish being famous all over again as the town where this happened. They'd say `You're in that movie' with a hint of disgust in their voice. But I think they liked the finished movie. It's much more complex than they thought it would be.''
Pauline's diaries were a major source material for the film. Peter Jackson, who both wrote and directed, spent two years doing research. ``Everyone has a different opinion on the case,'' he said. ``The fact is that both these girls played games - make-believe games. They lost touch, completely, with reality but they were not insane.''
The real life Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, both now about 55, are out of prison and are living in secrecy, under assumed names.
``They never met again once they were jailed,'' Winslet said. ``They hoped to be put in the same prison, but there was special effort to avoid that. They were never found insane. At one time, though, there was a suicide watch on for Juliet. One of them has become a successful novelist, under an assumed name.''
The actresses made no effort to find the real Pauline and Juliet. ``We were playing them as teenagers,'' Lynskey said. ``Besides, it would have been impossible to find them anyway. They live in total secrecy. We don't even know if they've seen the movie.'' ILLUSTRATION: Melanie Lynskey, left above, plays Pauline Parker and Kate
Winslet portrays Juliet Hulme in ``Heavenly Creatures,'' the story
of teen friendship that led to murder. At right, Pauline and Juliet
are shown at the time they stood trial in 1954.
At right, Melanie Lynskey, left, plays Pauline Parker and Kate
Winslet portrays Juliet Hulme in ``Heavenly Creatures,'' the story
of teen friendship that led to murder. Above, Pauline and Juliet are
shown at the time they stood trial in 1954.
by CNB