Search - Beautiful Creatures (Ws) on DVD

Dorothy & Petula Have A Body To Die For

cookieman108 | Inside the jar... | 09/26/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"While this movie had a promising start, it sort of crumbled like a cookie by the middle. Billed as a black comedy/suspense thriller, Beautiful Creatures stars Rachel Weisz and Susan Lynch and Petula and Dorothy, respectively. At the outset we find both women are involved in abusive relationships with very despicable men. Through a chance meeting, Dorothy intervenes, with an usual choice of a weapon, while Petula's boyfriend, Brian, is throttling her, and he is knocked unconscious. Fearful of legal entanglements and repercussions, they drag him back to Dorothy's apartment and try to decide how to best proceed. Brian regains consciousness, and while still suffering from too much drink, he falls and hits his head, ending his own life. This sets up the rest of the movie, as the women have to now deal with a dead body.Now Brian, who is well off, works for his brother Ronnie, who is even more well off, so the women concoct a scheme to make it appear as if Brian has been kidnapped, and extort a large sum of money from Ronnie, in hopes of using that money to make a better life far away. The scheme doesn't go as planned, as a crooked cop gets involved, along with Dorothy's boyfriend, to which they both develop plans of their own. Complications abound, as the women try to stay on top of things, but eventually just end up riding out forces beyond their control. I thought the actor who played Ronnie was especially good, presenting a calm yet menacing character, someone you wouldn't want to upset. He presented a very controlled exterior, but underneath you knew he was a dangerous man capable of providing a great deal of pain to those who crossed him. His concern for his missing brother seemed genuine, but his motivation appeared more to punish those who would dare to mess with him or his family, and restore face to his family name. I missed if he was 'connected' somehow, like a mob or something, but it certainly had that feel. I would have liked to see him get more screen time, as he presented a very interesting character.Both Weisz and Lynch played their parts well, appearing as sort of helpless women trapped in abusive relationships, who find the strength in each other, realizing that they don't have to be victims. Weisz looked a little off with her bleached hair, but when it was cut short, it looked much better. I still prefer her with dark hair, but she is still an amazingly attractive woman. Compared to Weisz, Lynch has a more understated beauty, a more earthy quality, but equally attractive.As I said before, the pacing kind of fell off around the middle, and there were some holes in the plot, but it's a fun ride. As far as the ending, I was a little disappointed as I saw it coming. All the threads got tied up neatly, with no surprises. Not a lot of originality, but great photography, with the movie set and filmed in Glasgow, Scotland. I was happy to see a fresh, interesting venue, providing a little extra spice to a decent meal. Along with good photography, I thought the music used really helped create a proper mood for this movie. One thing I really enjoyed about the score was it wasn't intrusive, and fit the scenes very well. The presentation is in wide screen, and is excellent, along with the audio. There are the basic extras consisting of a trailer, production notes, and bios. A solid movie, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend anyone go out of their way to see it, unless you've got a real thing for Rachel Weisz. (I admit, she was the main reason I bought this) And no, I didn't forget about the dog. Seems I won't be able to get out of this review without mention Pluto (that's the dog's name in the movie), so I will say, for a minor character providing a key element in a number of scenes, he did quite well. I would even go so far as to say his performance was 'finger lickin' good'. (If you see the movie, you'll know what I mean) Also, a number of reviews reference the movie Thelma and Louise in comparison to this movie, but I didn't, as I never saw it. There was so much attention and hype around that movie at the time it came out, I got turned off to it. Maybe someday...."

Darkly Funny Story about Beauty & Beast & a 50 % Acrylic Dog

Tsuyoshi | Kyoto, Japan | 04/12/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Set in Glassgow, Scotland, "Beautiful Creatures" may be referred to, like, as "Thelma and Louise" in UK. Or "Lock, Stock..." in female version. Or something like that. The fact is, the film has an uneven quality that makes every viewer confused after seeing it.Whatever the various reaction might be, the greatest assets of the film are the two leading ladies, who deserve nomination for BAFTA. Susan Lynch playes Dorothy, who, on the way from running away from her violent boyfriend, happens to save Petula from being beaten by her (Petula's) boyfriend on the road. As one guy drops dead (and refuses to go away), they develop their friendship, trying to fend off their mutual enemy, using some outrageous plan of fake kidnapping. As this short plot summery shows, the two females (beautiful creatures) are set against a bunch of nasty males, most of whom come after Petula and Dorothy to exploit them for money or whatever you may guess. This is the point where the audiences' opinions devide, as some may take it as typical expression of hatred against women in general, and some may call it a good example of dark humor. In whichever way you may feel, I don't know, but I was certainly very uncomfortable watching some of the scenes in which grim violence is depicted on the screen, especially when the other scenes are devoted to humorous descriptions of the two likable female characters played by Ms. Lynch and Ms. Weisz with aptly expressed serio-comic humor. This uneven tone of the film, I think, cause many viewers to complain with some justification, and sorry, I was one of them.The fans of the two leading ladies, however, will find very good performance from the both players, and they may feel a little relieved after watching Rechel Weisz (with blonde hair) caring a pinkish dog, or her conversation with Susan Lynch over cell phone about their ad-lib planning of kidnapping. Surely the female parts should deserve good reviews, and if you love (like me) Ms. Weisz's comic talent in "The Mummy" franchize, you will again fall in love with her. Watch them. Watch those lovely creatures, because they are really beautiful, and sometimes funny, too."