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3.1.17 The murder.
** What 'facts' are shown about planning the
murder?
* Pauline conceived of the murder and she chronicled everything in her diary. *
Initially, Pauline expressed a wish or desire that her mother should die, because she saw
her mother as an 'obstacle,' but she did not state anything beyond that. * Pauline did not
tell Juliet of her desire to murder Honora for some time, until a few days before the
murder. * The murder was planned by both girls during their final visit together at Ilam.
Juliet was portrayed as being completely distraut, tearful at the prospect of separation
and almost reluctant. Certainly not the instigator. By that time Pauline was calculating,
harsh, cynical and possibly not well-grounded in reality. We are shown several scenes
suggesting that Pauline's perceptions of the world were quite distorted. What we see does
not match her words. * The method and weapon used were planned ahead of time, in detail,
in the day or two before the murder and the murder was eventually carried out very much as
planned.
** What 'facts' are shown about the preparation
for the murder?
* Juliet chose a half-brick for the murder weapon from a pile of bricks near the
Ilam garage, wrapped it in a newspaper and brought it to the Riepers' house inside her
purse. * In her bedroom, Pauline put Juliet's half-brick in one of her stockings, knotting
it to keep the brick from coming out; this was to be the murder weapon. * Pauline placed
the murder weapon in her school satchel and carried it the murder scene.
** What 'facts' are shown about events up to the
murder?
* Pauline is shown writing an entry in her diary headed "The Day of the Happy
Event" in bed before getting up. * Ticking watches and clocks give the times of all
important events on June 22, 1954. * Juliet collected the half-brick and then was dropped
off, by her father, by shops near the Riepers'. She walked to the Riepers' after shopping
for "fruit." * Honora prepared lunch, which appeared jolly, and Bert, Wendy,
Honora, Juliet and Pauline were present. Bert and Wendy went back to work. Bert said
"good-bye" but he turned and looked at his wife, briefly, before he walked out
the door. Honora and the girls cleaned up. * Honora and the girls walked to Cathedral
square and caught a #2 bus (Cashmere) to go to Victoria Park. * Honora and the girls
walked from the bus terminal up to the tearooms at Victoria Park for tea and cakes before
the murder. Honora had tea, the girls had (orange) soft drinks. There were only a couple
of other people in the tearooms. Honora had cakes.
** What was shown during the "Humming
Chorus" walk?
* The three went through a gap in the hedge/wall near the teashop and started to
walk down a muddy dirt path into Victoria Park. * Pauline was leading, Honora came second
and Juliet took up the rear. * Pauline and Honora walked across a small wooden bridge; it
looked more like planking laid into the path than a bridge. * Juliet dropped the pink
stone on the path to distract Honora on the way back. "The Humming Chorus"
ended, there was a quiet pause and the soundtrack went back to immediate, live sound with
no music. A few birds called out. * Honora was calm and composed and quite cheery, giving
motherly advice to Juliet to button up her coat (she did, but her eyes were a million
miles away). * Honora looked at her watch (3:18 p.m.) and suggested they turn back so they
wouldn't miss their bus. * Pauline, standing behind Honora as they started back, pointed
out the pink stone to her mother: "Look!, mother!" Honora bent down to examine
it. Pauline reached into her school satchel. She had determination on her face, but we
find out it was fragile. The camera zoomed in on the tam on the back of Honora's head.
** What 'facts' are shown about the murder
itself?
* Pauline swung the brick and struck the first blow to her mother, from behind,
onto the right rear of Honora's head (the blow lands off camera). Honora cried out and we
see her fingers drop the stone. Honora fell forward, face downward, head uphill, onto her
hands and knees. * Pauline was shown crying after the first blow, obviously regretting her
action. However, once the deed was started, she and Juliet carried on until her mother was
dead. * Honora was hurt but not rendered unconscious by the first blow, or by the second,
or the third or the fourth. All four blows were from Pauline, swinging the brick. * After
the fourth blow we are shown Honora, now bleeding quite profusely onto her face from
unseen wounds on the back of her head. Honora is shown falling forward again, face- down
onto the ground. She has been moaning, wailing and crying out pitiously all this time, in
obvious pain. * Juliet is shown returning. Honora pleads with her, reaching out her hand.
Honora's face and hand are bloody. Juliet reaches out... * Juliet reaches out, but to
Pauline. We see that Pauline is blood-spattered, slightly, on her face and hand. Juliet
takes the brick from her. * Pauline goes down and struggles. We see her grasp Honora by
the back of her neck and hold her, face down, against the ground. * Juliet is shown
wielding the brick in both hands. She strikes Honora (off camera) once. * We see, briefly,
Pauline holding down a struggling Honora, still face down on the ground. * Juliet strikes
a second (off-camera) two-handed blow. * Pauline raises her head and we see she is now
covered in blood on her own head. * Juliet strikes a third (off-camera) two-handed blow.
** How accurate are the 'murder facts' shown in
the film?
A detailed comparison is given below in section 4.7, but to summarize: the majority
of 'facts' shown by Jackson about the events of June 22, 1954 conformed to facts entered
into testimony during the girls' trial.
** But is the film's version of the murder
accurate?
Ah! This is a very different question. It is explored in much more detail below in
section 4.7. The short answer is, surprisingly: No. Qualitatively, emotionally, the murder
shown may be similar in some respects to the actual murder, but there are many details and
complexities omitted by Jackson.
** What was the motive for the murder?
Jackson's statements at the beginning of this section are pretty consistent with
the superficial facts presented in the film. Ultimately, in "Heavenly
Creatures," Jackson chose to describe events without providing a statement of a
clear, rational motive for Honora's murder from any of the characters, including Pauline.
Pauline stated, in her diary voiceover, that she thought of her mother as being "an
obstacle" but, really, this is a terribly obscure reference. We are not told anything
concrete by Pauline that would provide a convincing motive for a crime of this magnitude.
Pauline never says, explicitly, what process or action Honora is being an
"obstacle" against, though we infer it is Pauline going away with Juliet. The
closest we get is Pauline's statement that, for her to get a passport before the age of
20, she would have to get her "sodding parents' permission."
** Why did Jackson choose to omit a clear motive?
A motive was presented during the trial and there was also one voiced in the court
of public opinion in real life. Jackson obviously does not believe these motives are
completely credible. However, it has to be said that his film superficially conforms quite
closely to the motive proposed by the prosecution, namely, that Pauline and Juliet were
completely overwrought at the thought of being separated and they saw Honora as the person
standing in the way of their being together. However, the prosecution implied the girls
were lesbian lovers; Jackson does not seem to accept that as either true or a reason for
murder.
** Does shutting your eyes help during the murder
scene?
Absolutely not. In fact, the murder is probably more horrific to people who have
shut their eyes and who must imagine what is happening from what is heard on the
extraordinary sound track. Although the murder is probably one of the most visceral and
emotionally-graphic murders I have seen on screen, it is also, perversely, one of the
least explicitly violent (no blows are actually shown landing on poor Honora) and one of
the least bloody. The blood shown is actually very realistic, nothing like the
over-the-top gore-fest for which Jackson is renowned. The only graphic scene of extreme
gore connected with the murder is the brief shot we see of the girls at the tearoom, long
after the murder has taken place: they have spatters and streams of blood on their faces.
We might even think at that time that they have been injured somehow and the blood is
theirs. Later, of course, we come to fully appreciate that the blood was entirely
Honora's.
** How is sound used in the murder scene?
In a word, brilliantly. The use of sound in the whole last act is
masterful--through the entire film, in fact. The emotion of the scene is painted almost
entirely through the presence and absence of sound, the stunning soundtrack (see 3.1.19),
the superb sound effects and the tight sound editing. Gold star from me, for the sound.
Particularly noteworthy are the way that the commingling of fantasy and reality is
conveyed, the way we experience the girls' unsuccesful attempts to detatch themselves
emotionally from the events, and especially the way we share Honora's realization and her
horror through her terrible cries. It is true that good sound can bypass conscious
rationalization in the viewer and strike at a deeper, more primitive level of
understanding. This certainly is the case in "Heavenly Creatures." The audience
has no quick defense against the sound used in the murder scene and it is a profoundly
unsettling experience. Exactly as Jackson intended
