Heavenly Creatures

I really believe this is one of the best films of the 1990s, all the more remarkable for being the first feature film performances by Kate and costar Melanie Lynskey. The cinematography is beautiful, nicely contrasting the flat, gray school and home lives of the girls and their rich fantasy life and the joy they have together. The animated sequences are wonderful, and a great way to express the reality the fantasy has to the girls while still keeping the audience a little removed from it. Both young actresses are excellent; I think Lynskey has the more challenging character, but Kate's performance is also nicely layered. You can just sense the edge of madness beneath her smooth, patrician exterior. As an exploration of the intensity of adolescent friendship, the delight and danger of fantasy, and the subtler effects of homophobia, it’s an insightful, eye-filling, all-around excellent film. And just try to get that Mario Lanza soundtrack out of your head.

Parker & Hulme: A Lesbian View, by Julie Glamuzina and Alison Laurie (paperback, $10.36). Explores the issues of sexuality, homophobia, and classism in the case and how it has affected the view of lesbianism in New Zealand.

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