Perry’s heavenly life is a creature feature

While compiling a list of some of the best films made either in New Zealand or by a New Zealand director, I was reminded of Kate Winslet . You may recall that Winslet starred in “Heavenly Creatures,” Peter Jackson’s 1994 adaptation of the true story of British mystery writer Anne Perry .

Perry, who read from her works in Spokane on March 14, 2002 (at Auntie’s Bookstore), is a genteel, intelligent and mild-mannered woman over the phone. She is, presumably, the same way in person. Yet as the movie shows, at age 15 Perry — known then by her birth name of Juliet Hulme — was complicit in the murder of a friend’s mother . Don’t believe it? The story behind the crime has long been a Web favorite for murder fans .

But my interest remains with Winslet. Last seen in the so-so “Life of David Gale,” in which she carried the ridiculous screen name of Bitsey Bloom, Winslet has long be an industry outsider. And she deserves credit for this. For one thing, she refuses to adjust her weight to the expectations of a Hollywood industry that glorifies the kind of unnatural body shape seen on those either bordering on, or actually suffering from, anorexia (see: Lara Flynn Boyle) . For another, she picks projects that often are outside the Hollywood ranch (see 2001’s “Iris”).

Either way, she is an actress who can’t be ignored. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character learned that much in “Titanic” when Winslet’s character pushed his frozen corpse off their jury-rigged raft. Wonder what Anne Perry had to say about that?