Formative Performances: Melanie Lynskey in “Heavenly Creatures”

Today I want to talk about Melanie Lynskey in Heavenly Creatures, and I’m having a bit of trouble.

Part of my struggle is due to the chilling nature of the movie. It’s about two girls with an obsessive, destructive, strangely beautiful friendship. Watching them become more and more obsessed with each other is unsettling, and some of the film makes me want to shriek and cover my eyes out of fear and anticipation of what I know is coming.

Part of my struggle is due to the fact that I can’t find my favorite clip of Melanie Lynskey in this movie, which is really annoying. Why can’t YouTube serve all of my whims on demand?

Either way, I like this clip because it shows the beginning of the developing friendship between Pauline and Juliet and their escape into the fantasy world they created for themselves. Both actresses are great in this movie, but Lynskey is the one that scares the hell out of me with her abrupt, yet believable, switches from passion to delight to intense, murderous anger in different scenes of the film.