Beautiful Creatures (Widescreen)

 

 

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BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is a tight black comedy from Europe and is an enjoyable little gem.

Dorothy (Susan Lynch) has just escaped from her controlling and violent relationship with her boyfriend (Iain Glen). After rescuing her dog from a bathful of pink acrylic paint, she sets about trying to rebuild her life.

When Dorothy happens upon Petula (Rachel Weisz) being beaten up by her high-corporate lover (Tom Mannion), she attempts to rescue her but ends up killing him. The two women soon find themselves running from the law (and an overzealous private investigator). When Dorothy's boyfriend suddenly reappears, it seems things can't get much worse.

Sometimes chilling, sometimes very funny, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is an outstanding low-budget gem that is very enjoyable.

Also featuring Maurice Roeves and Alex Norton.

For some reason, films about women rejecting male violence get compared to 'Thelma and Louise': it would be more appropriate to compare 'Beautiful Creatures' to a traditional English farce ... were it not for its Scottish roots. And therein lies the film's weakness.
Scottish cinema has been gaining a reputation for grittiness and distorted (or deconstructed) realism - 'Trainspotting' is the classic example. Scotland also has a reputation for hard men, hard drinking, and a wickedly, self-deprecating form of gallous humour. It's a tradition which doesn't quite translate to the studied, middle-class slapstick of English farce.
Set in Scotland - although it could as easily have been some concrete Eastern European cityscape - Dorothy (Susan Lynch) and Petula (Rachel Weisz) are two strangers united by their experiences of violence at the hands of drunks. They are not angels. They are no strangers, themselves, to alcohol and chemical voyaging. Petula, at least, seems to enjoy sadomasochistic sex.
But the moral gauntlet is thrown down. Women do not deserve to be battered. No one deserves to be battered. And who can blame the worm for turning? The women blunder into the execution of Petula's bloke.
How then, to dispose of the body? In true life gritty realism, they haven't a clue ... but blunder into reporting him as a kidnap victim. Each, in turn, ups the ante and the stakes get higher.
Enter the police in the form of apparently bungling Inspector Hepburn (Alex Norton). Norton decides to get in on the act. From here on in, the farce spirals out of anyone's control.
It is a funny movie - in places. It could have been a very funny movie ... and a very compelling thriller. The premise is excellent. The characters have real potential. There is plenty of scope to play with the Scottish themes and produce a tartan noir movie which twists and turns like a crazy golf course.
There is a golfing motif running through which pokes fairly seven-ironic fun at the male enthusiast. There is a cruelty to dumb animals motif running through - men are usually the victims, Weiss (playing a blonde) comes in for some of it, and the dog gets shot. All very entertaining really, if you despair of self-important male egos, hate the golf poser, and loathe household pets - it's a pity they don't blow up a few cats!
But it's a movie which is seriously flawed. It starts over slowly. It takes a while to get a fix on the action ... or, indeed, to start feeling sympathy for the two women. I can't approve of violence to women, but simply establishing that the women are in violent relationships doesn't automatically win the viewer's sympathy.
The action doesn't really get going ... it's a bit staccato. The tension isn't really built, the characters not quite developed, the humour not taken to its potential extremes, the climax a bit clumsy.
The saving feature for me was the entry of Alex Norton. He's a fine actor - he could play anything from a cuddly uncle to a deranged murderer. He gives a beautifully controlled performance as the manipulative, murderous golfing detective. His role actually knits the movie together - he could have taken over the way Alan Rickman does as a villain.
The weakness is in the editing. Had this script been tightened up a little, had it been allowed a touch more sophistication rather than a dumbing down, this could have been an excellent movie. In fact, for anyone interested in writing a screenplay ... or writing a short story or novel ... 'Beautiful Creatures' is well worth studying. It is well written. But spot the flaws! How could you have improved it?
The performances are excellent. Norton is superb. Susan Lynch is a fine actor; Weisz provides an excellent sparring partner. Maurice Roeves is a gritty heavy. And there's even a neat little cameo performance from Robin Laing. An excellent cast. A flawed movie, but one which is worth watching.

Sometimes the plot is not important and sometimes neither is acting. I actually found the acting in this movie quite mediocre. Nonetheless, all this is not important. The movie has style and you can see this from the start. It is quite rare and I value this very much.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Little Yarn
If you've thought that Rachel Weisz could never be lovelier, then BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is for you!

A far cry from the popcorn MUMMY films, Rachel Weisz puts on serious acting... Read more

Published on Sep 25 2003 by Edward Lee

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Movie
When I watched this movie I fell in love with it. Rachel Weisz is suberp as Petula and Susan Lynch is great as Dorothy. Read more

Published on April 14 2002 by Christie Bouchard

5.0 out of 5 stars An unpredictable dark comedy Pulp Fiction fans will love!
I saw this movie with a little hesitation. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I had read sounded all too interesting. Read more

Published on Jan 5 2002 by Movie Buff

1.0 out of 5 stars Not One Character
Is worth rootting for in this picture. The women are suppose to be pretty nieve murders. The men all corrupt. Read more

Published on Nov 4 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't underestimate these women!
There is a myth in Hollywood that strong women characters have to be strong women (i.e. Erin Brockovich). Read more

Published on Oct 22 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Darkly Funny...
In an interview Rachel Weisz said that with this film you will either love it or hate it. I belong to the camp that loved it. Read more

Published on July 23 2001 by morganrosella

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