To+what+extent+do+you+agree+that+the+production+features+of+a+particular+scene+can+contribute+to+a+film's+central+idea(s)?

Back to Heavenly Creatures: HEAVENLY CREATURES - YEAR 13 VISUAL TEXT Back to Essays Page: Good Essays for Heavenly Creatures Respond to this question with close reference to a flim (or films) you have studied.

The film __Heavenly Creatures__ directed by Peter Jackson, uses inter-cutting, hand held camera and he use of dream sequence to emphasise/explore the idea of fantasy versus reality. These techniques helped to shape the viewers' understanding of the ideas more clearly, as viewers are drawn to an unsettled movie. These techniques that are used, help to tie the movie together reinforcing a strange meaning of fantasy and reality.

Firstly, Peter Jackson used intercutting from the beginning right to the end. In the beginning viewers are introduced to a film strip of Christchurch, "The City of the Plains". The film strip shows a British cultural influence as the viewers see British-like buildings and listen to a BBC accent narrate the pictorial tour as a guide for viewers. The reason for this introduction to the movie is that viewers are drawn to this ideal world of c"civilisation", a formal way of showing civilised people live in Christchurch and so it is safe place with no ugly surprises. However, what the viewers do not know is what is actually happening at that very moment! Therefore the director uses intercutting to show this.

Viewers are instantly thrown by the girls screams as they drown out the documentary and change the scene to the harsh reality of girls screaming as they run along a bush path. Peter Jackson is instantly showing the idea of fantasy or reality. We had been introduced to a quiet, civilised town, then out of nowhere as the sound changes, viewers are froced to see the reality of what actually happens in this city on the plains. The use of intercutting makes the audience unsettled as it is often used as a technique throughout the movie. When intercutting is used it is to represent the opposite of reality. It intercuts to Pauline's wish fulfillment, to Pauline and Juliet's Fourth World and also to their own interpretations of their fantasy world called Borovnia. Peter Jackson wanted to show the viewers the personalities of these two girls. Pauline and Juliet are creative, imaginative and they act in a way to survive their own realities. Therefore it shows why Pauline and Juliet are obsessed with each other because the audience is looking at reality through the eyes of these girls. This helps the audience to understand the obsessive relationship between them both.

Jackson uses handheld camera shots to show the idea of a subjective view. The use of a handheld camera is to make viewers understand why Pauline and Juliet act in a certain way. We see then use of different shots from the start, for example when the girls are running out from the bush and towards the shop lady. Audiences are made to become one with the characters. They get to see the point of view of Juliet and Pauline through the use of handheld camera action and live the lives of these two girls and as a result, understand their world and not that of the other characters in the movie. Therefoer the use of handheld shots is used to see the girls point of view, to understand their personalities and way they act in both reality and fantasy situations. The audience wanders in Pauline and Juliet's world through the eyes of the handheld camera.

Another use of technique is the use of dream sequence. Right throughout the movie audience are introduced to Pauline's wish fulfillment. From the beginning, the opening scene inter-cuts to the first dream sequence, in which the audience see the happy girls running along the deck of the ocean liner. The use of dream sequence here is to show a happy relationship between the two girls. Audiences see the smiles on Juliet and Pauline's faces as they interact and merge through the other passengers. The dream sequence shows a relationship as sisters as they scream out "mummy!", therefore this shows us the dream of this two girls is to be family. As this is is Pauline's dream, then we are seeing through her eyes. This daydream sequence has gained the strength of a memory for Pauline, and thus it has been shown in sepia tones. The audience gets to understand the obsessive relationship between the girls.

However, at the end of the movie, the audience get another view of the two girls on the deck: Pauline is on land and Juliet is the only one getting ready to sail off to a new life with mummy and daddy Hulme. This dream sequence is different from the first because instead of showing happiness between the two girls, it shows the agony caused by the inevitable separation. When Pauline and Juliet kill Honora, Pauline's mother, the situation intercuts to the dream sequence of separation. The reason for this is to show the audience how unhappy they are and that the cruel act they have done caused the separation and not a fulfillment of happiness. Therefore audiences see the damage they brought upon themselves as they destroy the life of Pauline's mother and their own lives. Therefore Peter Jackon used the production feature of creating dream sequences to show Pauline's wish fulfillment and why she killed her mother, which was because she was "an obstacle to this dream".

In conclusion, Peter Jackson used intercutting, dream sequences and handheld shots to help the audience understand the message the director wanted to say. These production features reinforced the ideas of reality and the escape to fantasy very strongly. Audiences got a subjective view point, where they were thrown into reality and back to fantasy with harsh shot changes. Audiences could understand the film's central ideas clearly as they could interpret the meaning of the two girls' worlds as conveyed by these techniques. This is what Jackson wanted his audiences to do: to walk closely with the girls and understand their lives.