User reviews

After watching this film I came away thinking that the filmmakers made this with a smirk on their faces. I know its done in tongue in cheek but this story seems to ramble and then aimlessly wander about, especially towards the end when I had grown tired of this messy story and the film wants to trick you and not end when you think it should. The actions of the two leads are inexcusable and the film uses the fact that they get knocked around to somehow give credence for they're actions. The best reason for watching this film are the two actress's that star. Susan Lynch and Rachel Weisz are engaging enough but its to bad that the material isn't better. Film plays like a second rate version of "Bound" but without the lesbianism. This is a script that really needed a rewrite. A little of everything seems to have been thrown in! Film really has no focus. Too bad, because they have two good actress's that probably could have done something with this material.

This film reminds me of Bound or Goodbye Lover but with an british ala Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels style. It was entertaining ,not great but good, with a fair number of twists. 3 1/2 stars out of five.

I felt like I had to leap to the defence of ‘Beautiful Creatures' after what everyone had been saying about it. I made it my film of the month in my college magazine film pages. I loved it! I think that not only is it a great British film but a great film full stop. I know it only survived two weeks and was slated by the critics. I think perhaps lots of people were put off by the director's claims of it's dark humour and general shockingness whereas in reality (or unless I am unknowingly deeply psychologically disturbed) it wasn't all that bad. It does deserve it's certificate rating though, I wouldn't go that far.

I found it a welcome antidote to the recent deluge of lad's gangster/thriller flicks. It was fresh and much freer than any of those films. With good reason it has been compared to ‘Thelma and Louise' but as far as I can see it has more in common with the Wachowski brothers' ‘Bound'. Susan Lynch and Rachel Weisz were excellent. Their characters of Dorothy and Petula never came close to being your stereotypical man's-eye women. This reversal on the general way of gangster/thriller films was great stuff. The film was unapologetically British, the very British sense of humour was one of it's best points. Americans do not spare our feelings with their cruel characterisations of British people - why do our films have to America-friendly?

I think it's a shame no-one really gave a chance cos far as I'm concerned you've missed out on one of the warmest, funniest and most realistic films.

Beautiful Creatures is a British dark comedy about these two women who meet up with each other under undue circumstances and plotted a scheme so that they will come out ahead. It is somewhat funny, with most of the males in the film being their enemy standing in their way. Many of them are portrayed as seedy, opportunist or just plain lowlifes. The women eventually somehow overcomes them all. It is similar to Thelma & Louise, but our heroine are not so innocent themselves, and we have a happy ending.

The British have the reputation for being an eccentric race, and "Beautiful Creatures" is one of the eccentric oddities that the British film industry occasionally comes up with. The film, which is set in Glasgow, can best be described as an attempt to remake "Thelma and Louise" as a black comedy. A young woman named Dorothy comes to the defence of another young woman, Petula, who is being beaten up in the street by her abusive boyfriend, Brian. In the struggle Dorothy hits Brian over the head with a length of metal piping, which leads to his death after the women have taken his unconscious body back to her flat. They decide not to tell anyone about the death as they think that nobody will believe that the killing was carried out in self-defence. Instead, they decide to pretend that Brian has been kidnapped and to blackmail his wealthy brother, Ron. The complex plot also involves a corrupt policeman, Dorothy's boyfriend (just as unpleasant as Brian) and a pink-tinted dog.

The original "Thelma and Louise" took a similar theme but treated it seriously, without any attempt to turn it into a comedy. There are also some similarities with "Bound", although any lesbian attraction between Dorothy and Petula is implied rather than explicit. Those two films work better than "Beautiful Creatures", largely the leading characters are much more believable and, at times, sympathetic. Susan Lynch and Rachel Weisz do not succeed to anything like the same extent. The most memorable thing about either of them was Weisz's horrendous peroxide blonde wig. (She looks much better as a brunette). I wonder if she took this part because she needed to appear in an oddball independent film in order to convince herself that she was still a bohemian free spirit despite having acted in Hollywood blockbusters like "The Mummy".

Black comedy can be a difficult subject to get right, either in the theatre or the cinema. If it is not supported by a brilliant wit (as in some of Joe Orton's plays) or by pertinent satire (as in "Dr Strangelove") it can come across as simply gross. The main rule of successful black comedy is that it is not enough to be black; one must be comic as well. Done well, black comedy can be tasteless but hilarious; done badly, it is merely tasteless.

Unfortunately, "Beautiful Creatures" falls into the second category. The film's attempts at satire all fall wide of the mark. There was presumably some attempt at feminist satire on male attitudes to women, but this does not really work as Dorothy and Petula come across as being just as twisted in their attitudes as any of the males on display. There is plenty that is black, with plot developments involving drugs, violence, cruelty and various sexual perversions, but little that is comic. 4/10

Surrounded by violent men in their loves, circumstances cause two women to form a protective partnership. This is an entertaining black comedy but lacks the pacing, clever script, and bizarre edge that distinguish the best of this sub-genre of films. Weisz, sporting a blonde do, and Lynch are pretty good, playing a variation on the Thelma and Louise theme. This is the only feature film made by TV director Eagles, and he lacks the absurdist touch of the likes of the Coen Brothers, Guy Ritchie, and Quinton Tarantino. A similar film that is superior in every respect is the Wachowski Brothers' stylish and alluring "Bound." The dog is cute.

After escaping an attack from her abusive man, attractive Susan Lynch (as Dorothy) decides to leave him. While waiting on a bus to London from Glasgow, Ms. Lynch witnesses another abusive man. He is attacking beautiful blonde Rachel Weisz (as Petula). Lynch takes a long metal bat and swings at the attacker. It's a solid hit and Ms. Weisz' abuser is knocked out of the park. The women drag him home and put him in the bathtub, with comfortable quilt. While not funny, the bathtub scene does suggest "Beautiful Creatures" is a comedy. Lynch and Weisz get high and bond. Lynch is attracted to Weisz' platinum blonde locks and plays hairdresser...

The women team-up and agree about how to dispose of one lover. The other, businessman Iain Glen (as Tony), causes problems. He's a real mean junkie who plays an awful trick on the dog Lynch's dog "Pluto". In return, Pluto plays a magic trick with Mr. Glen's ring finger...

Later, Weisz gets to take a swing at Lynch's husband; here and there, director Bill Eagles provides a lot of synchronicity. He and editor Jon Gregory try not bore the viewer. Best performance honors go to lecherous police detective Alex Norton (as George Hepburn), with an honorable mention to Maurice Roeves. Sexiest moment is when Weisz removes her stockings to relax during some violence. She doesn't need nudity to be sexy. The real heroes and/or heroines are not the two leading women, strangely. They are the dog Pluto and, possibly, the guy at the window (Robin Laing) with the dirty magazines. It should have been the women.

**** Beautiful Creatures (8/23/00) Bill Eagles ~ Rachel Weisz, Susan Lynch, Alex Norton, Iain Glen

A very twisted, dark comedy ... laugh out loud funny at times ... lots of plot twists to keep you wondering .... just the kind of movie to fill an evening and it makes you want to watch it again and wonder what you missed the first time as it is so warped you were undoubtedly laughing and probably missed something. (love the dog, Pluto, no matter what colour he is!)

Too routine for a thriller, too unpleasant for a "comedy" (a comedy? please!), too contrived for a crime caper (let me get this straight: the whole mess begins when a dog bites off a corpse's finger?) and too reverse-sexist (all the men are vicious, sleazy b******s) for its female characters to be even the least bit sympathetic. A misfire. (**)

I went to see this film at an early sneak preview. Ordinarily I would not have gone to see a film like this as I am not a big fan of British cinema (although I enjoy stuff like Lock Stock & 2SB), but I am very glad I got to see this preview.

The director Bill Eagle was at the preview, and as he mentioned before the film "if you don't think that death, S&M, mutilation of dead bodies, and drugs etc are appropriate for a comedy, then you better leave now". To be honest, I couldn't have put it better myself. The sense of humour in this film is indeed quite gross in places.

The basic plotline is that Petula and Dorothy both have violent boyfriends, and after one of them goes into a blind rage and almost kills Petula, Dorothy accidentally kills him. Both of them try to cover this up, but it isn't going to be easy. While this may sound like a quite depressing drama, it is actually done with a very tongue in cheek humour sometimes and is actually very funny (although this is probably not the sort of thing we should be laughing at!

Overall, if you enjoyed the dark comedy of Lock Stock, like the quirkiness of British movies, and can withstand a barrage of jokes in the worst possible taste (way more dark and gross than a lot of other movies labelled as "gross out comedy" or whatever), I would recommend going to see this film. After the movie ended there was a short question and answer with the director himself, and most of the audience seemed to have enjoyed the movie tremendously... I know I did!

We finally see the one film that has crawled out of wasted lottery money and it is, indeed, a disappointment. Perhaps foreign audiences who want to lap up anything British will enjoy this badly told tale more than I did. Two not-too-bright girls both have violent boyfriends, one of whom accidentally gets killed as the girls are thrown together and try to help each other. They make maladroit attempts to cover up the murder, which is where things go even more wrong. Wanting so hard to be a black comedy thriller along the lines of Shallow Grave or Blood Simple, Beautiful Creatures is ultimately little more than worthy of mid-week TV viewing.

It always helps having no expectations about a film, and just go with its flow. And "Beautiful Creatures" just happens to have a fun flow, along the film noir lines. A simple mixture of a black comedy & a mild crime thriller, ultimately making up for a an effective 90 minutes of entertainment, wrapped up on a comfortable budget, supported by a decent enough cast. A grain of that noir-comedy touch the Coen Brothers sometimes use, done UK-style (but without Guy Ritchie's hectic pacing & editing) and more in sync really with films like "Head Above Water" (1996) and the more recent "The Ice Harvest" (2005). If you've liked any of the stuff I just mentioned, you'll probably have some fun with "Beautiful Creatures" too. It stars the perfectly capable Susan Lynch & Rachel Weisz, both forced by coincidence into the role of a femme fatale duo, desperately trying to solve & ultimately exploit the messy situation they've gotten themselves into.

Part of what makes a movie good is that the viewer can follow the plot. Alas, "Beautiful Creatures" failed in this respect. This story of two women who accidentally kill one of them's hubby does not make itself comprehensible. Rachel Weisz has starred in much better movies ("Sunshine", "The Constant Gardener"), so why would you want to focus on this? I expect England to make really good flicks ("The Man in the White Suit", "The Italian Job", "Letter to Brezhnev", "The Full Monty", "Billy Elliott"), but even the best don't succeed every time. There's always got to be something better this out there. It's not an awful movie, but not worth your while.

Not a British version of Thelma and Louise but almost a weird caricature. An unusual mixture of three things: British comedy, Violent thriller, Role reversal - where the women really are the main characters and all the surrounding men are two dimensional stereotypes - violent and/or lecherous who get their just rewards. All in all good fun and not half as black or sick as some people have said (even the director!).

We sat through "Beautiful Creatures" in the hope that it would get funny or at least get better. It did neither. On DVD in Australia it's rated MA15+ but probably should be R for violence and drug use. What a waste of two great female leads! The scenes of physical abuse, threatened violence and forced drug taking are appalling. This film has absolutely no redeeming features and is a waste of film stock. It adds nothing to the human condition - not that every film has to do that by any means, but it doesn't entertain or amuse either Take my tip, just don't bother. An this is coming from someone who can usually find something good in any film.

What I liked about the film "Beautiful Creatures" is that the lead female characters, Petula and Dorothy, are not strong women initially. They have allowed themselves to be dominated by physically, mentally and sexually abusive men. Neither seem to be capable of helping themselves out of these relationships. But, ironically, they each have the ability to help the other. And in helping each-other, they find the strength that had been beaten out of them. Even though the film addresses a serious subject, I found it to be very funny without making light of the domestic abuse issue. Susan Lynch is terrific as Dorothy, the fed-up heroine who comes to the aid of a stranger and finds herself facing murder charges. And "Mummy" fans will hardly recognize Rachel Weisz from her most familiar role as "Evie." Weisz is proving herself to be one of the most versatile actors making films today. There is an uninhibited quality about her performances that make every character she takes on totally believable.

Beautiful Creatures was real fun to watch. It won't really change your outlook on life but will make you happier with the one you have. The plot is ridiculous, the coincidence make you feel like buying a lottery ticket, but it gets you involved. It moves on a pace and the humor is very non-PC but the naughtiness makes it more enjoyable. Susan Lynch and Rachael Weisz are superb actresses and seemed to enjoy the filming and this comes over. It is, however, morally corrupt but that is part of the fun once you switch your morals and brain off (don't try this at home).

Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Unsatisfying black humor comedy oriented, about two women that seemingly are passive and weak, both are abused, in many ways, sexually and mentally by their opposites, all this began almost accidently when Dorothy (Susan Lynch) saves Petula (Rachel Weisz) to be stifled until death hitting Mike McMinn (Tom Mannion) by a steel pipe at the street, however he did not die, the scary women taken his body to Dorothy's apartment, which he gonna die after falling down in bathroom's floor.

Such unexpected mishap Dorothy and Petula settle together a bold plan as Mike was supposedly kidnapped by somebody else, asking for to his richest brother Ronnie McMinn (Maurice Roeves) a trife two million pounds by the ransom, the proves was a finger that the dog Pluto almost eaten, then appears the dubious and lewd Det. Inspector Hepburn (Alex Norton) in charge of the case, sniffing around with double meaning questions, including a sudden interest of sexual nature on Petula.

The plot in going fairly well, when appears at apartment Dorothy's husband Tony (Iain Glen) a menacing, addicted and grim man, drugs himself and also enforcing Dorothy to do the same even her unwilling, worst tie up Dorothy to be violated by the own Dog Pluto and demands under a gun Petula to make sex concurrently, this sequence is so disgusting and sickening that spoils the picture for good, you may have a strong stomach to go ahead.

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 2021 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 6.25

I barely lasted more than 30 minutes with this rubbish. Whoever financed this garbage needs their heads examined. I suppose it is meant to be a comedy but I could find nothing amusing, as the film-makers seem to think is, with violence again women which it at the crux of this movie. What I saw of the picture was unfunny, unconvincing and totally absurd. Unsurprising no one can touch the American film industry with British trash like this. 1 out of 10.