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3.1.16.7 Telephones.
** How does Jackson use telephones?
Real life testimony mentioned the enormous importance of telephones to Pauline and
Juliet. Jackson and Walsh took the cue, but they decided to use phones in a specific way.
In "Heavenly Creatures" telephones are used to emphasize and foreshadow
separation, not as symbols of communication or as a way of making a connection. Phones are
a poor second-best compared to being together, resorted to in times of necessity. They
never brought good news or laughter or joy in the film. A few points stand out: Pauline
hears of Juliet's TB over the phone. The camera pulls back as Pauline has "a terrible
job not to cry" and shows us she is quite alone. Then there is that remarkable,
heart-wrenching scene that seems to affect so many viewers, the one with the two girls
clinging to their phones as if to each other, sobbing and vowing "we won't be
separated." The mothers are both standing by to pry their daughters away... Finally,
though we don't see it, we hear that the final details of the murder are decided and
crystallize over the phone.
