Heavenly Creatures (1994) Ending Scene

 Heavenly Creatures (1994) Ending Scene

Info:
Tilt of film: Heavenly Creatures

Released: 1994 (UK)
Director: Peter Jackson

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

"Two girls have an intense fantasy life; their parents, concerned the fantasy is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge." - INDb

Generic Characters:

• Innocent Victims
• Twisted relationships/friendships leading to murder

Generic Locations and objects:

• Confided spaces
• Clocks
• Wide open spaces
• Interior of motor vehicles
• Narrow pathways

Ending Scene

Heavenly Creatures starts with a circular narrative which is based on a true story - The circular narrative starts with events which take place after the ending scene at the beginning of the film. A circular narrative is used in many other thriller films to establish the genre. Some key examples of thriller films which use this are: Donnie Darko (2001) and also Once Upon A Time In America (1984).

At the beginning of the ending scene, the two girls - Pauline Parker (actress Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet Hulme (actress Kate Winslet) exchange convocation about the upcoming events. In this scene, there are many medium close up shots and zooms. I noticed that during this scene where the two girls are in the bedroom that the camera seems to get closer and closer to the girls. This movement can represent the suspense and tension which they are going through.

At the end of this scene, there is a extreme close up of a bag. This bag contains the murder weapon which the girls are going to use. The extreme close up tells the audience that this bag is very important. The director - Peter Jackson who is recognised for the directing the Lord Of The Rings trilogy wants the audience to keep an eye on this bag, as it'll become very important. Inside the bag is a brick, the brick could represent the girls during this scene. They are hard, rough, emotionless and cold.     

During the ending scene, there is two zooming in extreme close ups of clocks. Clocks are a generic thriller prop/convention which is used to show that time is an issue. In a court case they would ask you when and what time did the events take place. The extreme close ups of the clocks can represent this as the girls may be going to a court case in the near future.

First appearance of the clock in
Heavenly Creatures

Second appearance of the clock
in Heavenly Creatures

The first appearance of the clock is very different to the second. The second appearance of the clock is more zoomed in, it's far closer to the clock then the first appearance. This can also support the fact that time is an issue. The clocks make the whole scene feel more natural and realistic.

Donnie Darko - Close up of clock

Heavenly Creatures isn't the only thriller film which uses clocks to establish the genre. Donnie Darko (2001) for example has an extreme close up of a clock during the opening scene just before the airplane's jet engine falls through Donnie's house. This extreme close up can be seen as an intertextual reference as both films show clocks just before some kind of threatening danger occurs.

During the ending scene (at about 3:20, video at the top) Peter Jackson has edited in a non-diegetic soundtrack. The soundtrack is from an opera called "Madam Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini. The soundtrack, which is called "Humming Chorus" is rather dramatic yet very beautiful. This non-diegetic sound builds up suspense for the audience. Not only does the soundtrack set the mood of the scene, it also creates a sense if being in a dreamworld reality. This dreamworld reality is the world in-which the girls are living in during the final scene.

Below is the soundtrack "Humming Chorus" for your listening pleasures.

Peter Jackson challenges classic thriller generic conventions during the end scene. One of the main conventions he challenges is the use of wide open spaces with narrow pathways. This is when the girls and the Mother are walking down the narrow pathway in a wide open space. The lighting is ambient which creates a sense of the events being more realistic and far more threatening. The narrow pathway is very claustrophobic, this makes the Mother feel isolated. Narrow pathways is another generic thriller convention which is often used to make the characters feel that there is no escape. 

There are many different close ups and tracking shots of the girl's and the Mother's feet walking down the pathway in the ending scene. These are used to show that the Mother is walking to her death. These close ups and tracking shots are filmed in slow-mo. The slow-mo is used to represent that the girls are in an almost dream-like reality as the girls want to be together without the Mother. The slow-mo is also used when the camera cuts to close ups of the character's faces, the camera can then capture every single thought which is running through their minds just before the crime is committed. The soundtrack is also used to show this, as mentioned above.