While riding a train, Dorothy (Susan Lynch) gets into a spat
with her boyfriend Tony (Ian Glen) over the whereabouts of a set of golf clubs
that he had brought home. Tony is really, really desperate to know what Dorothy
did with his precious golf clubs--so much so that he turns violent and tries to
attack her right on the train. When the conductor tries to stop the fight, Tony
slugs him one right in the face. After hiding in a bathroom aboard the train
until Tony has left, Dorothy returns home to find Tony has trashed the place and
has painted Pluto, her beloved snow white dog, a bright shade of pink. Taking as
much as she can from her abusive, junkie boyfriend, Dorothy decides to take
Pluto and leave Glasgow--and Ian--for good.
Yet just when Dorothy’s about to board the bus for London, Pluto races off into
the night, forcing her to chase after him. Catching up the Pluto, Dorothy has
stumbled onto Petula (Rachel Weisz) being violently assaulted by her boyfriend
Brian in an alleyway. In an attempt to save Petula’s life, Dorothy whacks Brian
over the head with a massive pipe. One thing leads to another, and soon Brian
winds up dead in Dorothy’s bathroom. The sensible Dorothy and the flighty Petula
band together to cover up their involvement in Brian’s death. But that’s easier
said than done...especially when Dorothy gets an idea on how they could make a
few bucks off this situation.
Like the best thrillers, Beautiful Creatures becomes more and more complicated
as the machinations build up. But unlike most thrillers, BC is also very funny,
and it gets even funnier as it goes on, as well. The chemistry between Weisz and
Lynch is marvelous, and Simon Donald’s crisp and witty script gets you on these
girls’ side very quickly. Bill Eagles--who directed for the first time here--has
an assured hand as he makes sure the comedy flows from the realistic situations,
yet still leaves some room for slapstick, especially at the end. Beautiful
Creatures manages to be both funny and suspenseful while still making a wry
commentary on the role of a woman in the classic hard-boiled crime thriller--at
the same time, turning this genre on its ear.
The city of Glasgow, Scotland serves very well as the locale for the shady
dealings and double crossing that Petula and Dorothy must undergo. There’s no
commentaries, and the special features are pretty slim--with just text
information on the actors that you read--but the film itself is well worth
owning. If you enjoy the sort of off-kilter crime thrillers that are spiced with
comedy--like Quentin Tarantino’s films and the movie Out Of Sight--then you’ll
like Beautiful Creatures. The antics of Dorothy, Petula and Pluto the dog are
well worth watching over and over again.
--SF
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