Girl With a Pearl Earring

Rating:
Summary: Scarlett is Chilling
Review: I have become obsessed with Scarlett Johansson. After seeing her in Ghost World and then years later in Lost in Translation, I have fallen in love with her classic beauty and superb acting. So let me put it out there - I saw this movie to see Scarlett.

As an artist, I found the film to be intriguing. Almost every scene, like a Vermeer, had perfect light, wonderful color, and fantastic composition. The cinematography is breathtaking. But also, as the characters prance around in an utterly perfect atmosphere, it is hard to miss the superb acting of the cast as a whole, especially by the females. Griet (Johannson), her mistress, and her misstress' mother are all played with quiet conviction and simulatenous compassion. While each character holds in place, none, even the young daughter, is without multiple dimensions and vast emotion.

That said, the film had a feel for a made-for-TV movie. The plot was subtle yes. But much happened - maybe too much. Meanwhile, there were parts of the film that drove me insane (why was the sky high noon blue when the light in the room was that of early evening?), but it did manage to keep me calmly entertained. The ending lacked strength, but when Scarlett puts on the cloth, the earring, and turns her head behind her shoulder to reveal the "perfect" pose, chills ran down my spine for 5 minutes straight. And for that alone, the film deserves at least 4 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Gives new dimension to the term "art film"
Review: Hanging in the Royal Cabinet of Paintings in The Hague is a 17 1/2 by 15 3/8 inch oil on canvas by Johannes Vermeer, "Girl with a Pearl Earring". Perhaps you've seen it, either the original or a reproduction. Against a dark background, it depicts a young girl, wearing a blue turban from which falls a yellow scarf, gazing over her left shoulder towards the viewer. From her visible ear dangles a large, tear-drop shaped, pearl earring. The painting is exquisite.

There are a couple of questions still surrounding the work. Are the pearls real? Who was the model? Vermeer's oldest daughter, Maria? Or perhaps Magdalena, the daughter of Vermeer's principal patron, Pieter Van Ruijven?

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, a film based on the novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier, does something I've not seen done before, and which would enhance art appreciation considerably if a series of such productions were made focusing on publicly recognizable works of art, e.g. the "Mona Lisa" and her enigmatic smile. The film creates a fictional story around the genesis of the painting, and we watch as the artist creates it.

It's the Dutch city of Delft in 1665. A young girl, Griet (Scarlett Johansson) is employed as a common maid by Catharina (Essie Davis), the artist's haughty wife. At first, the viewer might be forgiven for being led to believe that the household is run by a matriarchy, Johannes (Colin Firth) himself being reclusive. Apparently presiding over everything is Maria Thins (Judy Parfitt), Catharina's severely parsimonious mother. Providing tension from a lower level is Cornelia, the artist's 6-year old daughter, who resents Griet from the very start.

Assigned to clean Vermeer's studio, Griet becomes enthralled by the work in progress. Noticing this, the artist emerges into the audience's view, and involves Griet in the mechanics of his art's creation, especially the selection and purchase of coloring materials, and the preparation of the oils. Griet fills a void in the artist's life. His wife doesn't "understand" his art, and, indeed, hasn't even set foot in his studio since some past quarrel. Johannes becomes (platonically) obsessed with Griet, and, unknown to Catharina, the girl fearfully becomes, perhaps realizing the potential repercussions, his model.

Johansson's performance is brilliant and worth an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Colin Firth, whose taciturnity and stone-facedness in his roles I usually find unappealing, is perfect as Vermeer. His smoldering passion for art and Griet, along with the other subsurface family tensions, keeps the viewer waiting for something to explode. Parfitt is terrific as the intimidating Maria Thins, who sees what's happening between her son-in-law and the maid, but says nothing to her daughter. Maria knows on which side the family's bread is buttered, and realizes that without the income generated by Vermeer's oils, the household would be thrown into the street.

A somewhat discordant note is the character of Van Ruijven, well-played by Tom Wilkinson. His growing lust for Griet becomes a distraction best left on the cutting room floor. However, his character is necessary to the story for the audience to understand an artist's financial precariousness.

Finally, the pearl earrings take center stage when the explosive confrontation between Johannes and Catharina finally occurs, and the latter's term for her husband's latest work is indeed curious. The audience is reminded of the symbolic power of material things.

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING will not likely make it out of the art houses into wide release. But it's a clever and beautiful film that grows on me the more I think about it. If you've ever stood entranced in front of a painting, go see this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Static movie fails to come alive.
Review: The novel, "Girl with a Pearl Earring," by Tracy Chevalier, was deservedly acclaimed by the literary world. Chevalier captured the atmosphere of 17th Century Holland perfectly, and she brought the characters of Johannes Vermeer and Griet, the maid who loves art, to vibrant life. The book inspired discussion groups, a gorgeous exhibit in the Met, and many newspaper and magazine spreads. It was a cultural phenomenon.

The film, alas, although beautiful to behold, is slow-moving and too shallow to do justice to the book. The director, Peter Webber, evokes little emotional resonance from his actors. Griet is supposed to be a very intelligent and intuitive young woman with strong artistic leanings. A restrained Scarlett Johansson plays Griet as a timid and bewildered maiden. Colin Firth is a disheveled and distracted Vermeer, who fails to impart the genius behind the man.

The story takes place mostly in the house of the great Dutch painter. Vermeer is surrounded by a passel of women, including his sharp-tongued mother-in-law, Maria Thins, his fertile wife, Catharina, his resentful daughter, Cornelia, and numerous other children and servants. Thins is constantly pressuring her son-in-law to paint faster, since the family needs money to maintain their costly lifestyle. Vermeer, however, is a perfectionist who works slowly and deliberately. He refuses to churn out assembly-line paintings. Although the playful butcher's son, Pieter, is courting Griet, her heart belongs to Vermeer and his art.

Griet is fascinated by the complexities of painting. How are beautiful colors mixed, and how does an artist decide to place his subject in a particular position or in a certain light? Vermeer finds Griet to be an apt and eager pupil and she secretly becomes his assistant. She also becomes his model when the lecherous Van Ruijven, played with relish by Tom Wilkinson, commissions Vermeer to paint her. The result is the timeless work of art that has captured the imagination of the world.

The lighting, cinematography, and costume design in "Pearl Earring" are all breathtaking. However, it takes more than surface beauty to make a memorable motion picture. If the director and the actors had dug deeper into the book's themes to better explore the tempestuous emotions that lay beneath the surface, they might have imbued the film with a bit more animation and depth.

Rating:
Summary: LESS THAN PICTURE PERFECT...
Review: Based upon a best selling book of the same name by Tracy Chevalier, I had high hopes for this film. Unfortunately, they were not fully realized. While the cinematography is exquisite, as every frame brings to mind a Vermeer painting or one by an old Dutch master, the film is static and becomes enervated, sinking into a torpor that not even its beauty can cure.

The story line seems fairly simple. A pretty and seemingly intelligent Dutch girl, Griet (Scarlett Johansson), daughter of an artisan with failing eyesight, goes to work as a maid the home of painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), when her family's financial circumstance mandates that she seek employment. While in the Vermeer household, she is caught up in the undercurrents that exist within. When Griet catches the eye of Vermeer's wealthy patron (Tom Wilkinson), she becomes the object of the patron's lust, the object of Vermeer's wife's (Essie Davis) jealousy, and the subject of one of Vermeer's most noted paintings.

Unfortunately, the storyline is static in its presentation, never fully realizing any of its plots or sub-plots. Too much is left unexplained and too little is alluded for the viewer to draw inferences to fill in the story gaps. This is a shame, given the time, expense, and attention to detail given to the entire production. Consequently, the film moves as if it were a montage of beautifully drafted paintings transplanted to film. It is ponderously slow, forgetting that it is a film requiring some cohesion of story or plot, something that this film lacks. More telling, it lacks real dramatic tension. It is almost as if the filmmaker were more interested in the form of the film rather than its substance. Therein lies the rub.

Still, the sheer beauty of the cinematography alone makes this film worth seeing. Seventeenth century Holland is painstakingly brought to life. There is no detail that is left to chance in the exquisite re-creation of the environs and material goods of the characters. Much effort is devoted to authenticity of detail. Moreover, the use of lighting is extraordinary, causing every scene to look as if it were a moment captured in time for all posterity. This film was justifiably nominated for an Academy Award in 2004 for its cinematography. I am only surprised that it lost to Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

Scarlett Johanssen bears a remarkable resemblance to the subject of the noted painting by Vermeer, and she shimmers with a compelling luminosity throughout the film. She is simply sheer physical perfection in the role. In terms of illuminating the viewer as to the psyche of her character, she falls somewhat short, giving only tantalizing glimpses of what lays beneath her impassive demeanor, as she forms a bond with Vermeer, sharing a seemingly mutual appreciation of aesthetics. Colin Firth, in the role of Vermeer, falls a little short of the mark. Disheveled and seemingly unkempt, he appears doltish and boorish rather than artistic. One gets very little sense of the artist through his performance, but, in all fairness, he has very little dialogue with which to work. Perhaps that is intentional, as a sublimation to his artistry. The viewer is left unsure. Whatever the reason, his performance simply fails to paint a meaningful portrait of the artist.

The roles of Vermeer and Griet are the primary roles, yet they fail to carry the film, as they are too underdeveloped to convey the story the director seems to be trying to tell. Essie Davis gives an excellent performance as Catharina, Vermeer's jealous and histrionic wife. Judy Parfitt is compelling as Maria Thins, Vermeer's practical and socially conscious mother-in-law. Tom Wilkinson gives a fine performance as the wealthy, lustful patron, Van Ruyven. Cillian Murphy is outstanding as Pieter, the very handsome butcher's boy who falls in love with Griet. Joanna Scanlan is very good in the role of Tannake, the cook and housekeeper. Still, their performances are not sufficient to bring the story together, as they are secondary characters that are as underdeveloped as the primary ones.

See the film for its beauty, but do not expect a story that is compelling.

Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: This was one of the best movies that I've seen in years. A magnificent, sensuous, and yet amazingly subtle film.

Rating:
Summary: "Beauty inspires obsession"
Review: Director Peter Webber makes his film debut with "Girl with a Pearl Earring", a lush and visually beautiful film about famous Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer's inspiration and creation of one of the most celebrated paintings of all time. Featuring an inspired cast of Scarlet Johansson, who plays Griet, the servant girl whom inspires Vermeer to paint his masterpiece, Colin Firth as Vermeer, Tom Wilkinson, and Cillian Murphy and showcasing some of the most astounding cinematography and art direction I've ever scene on screen, this is truly a film to behold. It is visually stunning, virtually a painting in movement and is simply breathtaking to behold. The atmosphere is so perfectly created by the lavish sets, intricate costumes, enchanting lighting, striking cinematography, and beautiful music that one cannot help but be impressed by the amount of effort that went into creating this piece of art.

Unfortunately, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" suffers from a severe case of "high on style, low on substance syndrome". All in all, not much happens in this film and along with the sparse dialogue, it soon becomes difficult for audiences to stay interested; despite the abundant visual radiance of the film. The story simply lacks a driving force that would have kept it flowing and viewers interested. Therefore, it, regrettably, plods along at an excruciatingly dull pace.

Rating:
Summary: Sister Productions
Review: I've read reviews complaining about the movie's adaptation of the book. I absolutely loved both! As Tracy Chevalier said before the release of the movie, "[The book and movie] are like sisters rather than the same person, and complement each other rather than fight." No they aren't the same thing, and yes I question some of the things they removed from the book, but this movie is still great.

The casting was right on. Colin Firth is absolutely amazing in his role just as Scarlett Johansson is. Their chemistry is absolutely amazing. Additionally this movie is beautifully shot with lovely costumes and scenery. It made me look at the world differently for all of its complex colors.

Rating:
Summary: If it's not broken, why mess with it?
Review: I HATE when this happens! You take a perfectly good story (in this case, Tracy Chevalier's "Girl With a Pearl Earring"), and then the buffoons in Hollywood mess with it for no apparent reason and ruin what has the potential of being an excellent movie.

The reason I gave the film two stars is because two major aspects of the movie are dead on: the casting and the setting. The cast of this movie is absolutely perfect, and the visual elements of the film are exactly what I pictured when I was reading the book. However, the screenplay is a disaster. There are many small omissions from the book that make the movie confusing for people who aren't familiar with the story. The scene where Griet and Vermeer are supposed to meet in Griet's parents' kitchen is completely omitted from the film, as is a basic explanation of why Griet is forced to go to work as a maid in the first place. Many scenes in the film are out of order, which completely destroys the main ideas that Chevalier outlined in her book. Griet's relationship with Pieter is depicted very differently in the film than in the book, and many of the other character relationships are skewed as well. And although Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth are flawless in their performances, I winced during the scene where Vermeer pierces Griet's ear in the movie...IT DOESN'T HAPPEN THAT WAY IN THE BOOK, and there's a REASON it doesn't happen that way! I think the entire film completely jeopardized the integrity of the original novel, and there was no reason for it.

Perhaps the worst deviation from the novel occurs in the final minutes of the film: everything that happens from the moment Catharina discovers the painting of Griet is a complete fabrication. In the novel, Griet runs out of the house and is unsure of where she should go. Although she was never really sold on the idea of marrying the butcher's son, she realizes that he's her best chance for survival, and so she goes ahead with it. Ten years later, Tanneke visits Griet as she is working in the butcher shop and tells her that her mistress wishes to see her. Griet pays a visit to the Vermeer house for the first time in years. It has been several months since Vermeer has passed away, and Catharina informs Griet that her late husband has left her the pearl earrings in his will. Griet is obviously stunned, and she decides that she can't keep the earrings, so she sells them and gives the money to Pieter, telling him the Vermeers wanted to pay off their debt to the butcher shop. Now WHY did those Hollywood idiots rewrite the end of the movie so it didn't make any SENSE?! I'll never understand it.

"Girl With a Pearl Earring" is perfectly cast and is visually stunning, but the screenplay really sucks. I don't understand why the director felt the need to rearrange scenes from the book and omit little details that would have made the film less confusing to the audience. The movie is only an hour and a half long, so it's not like they were forced to edit things out because they were pressed for time. It seems like whoever wrote the screenplay merely skimmed through Chevalier's novel and wrote the draft for the movie in about an hour's time. What a disgrace. I wish they hadn't bothered to make the movie at all.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Art Directions, sometimes slow story
Review: Let's start with the minus-points.

The movie is sometimes a little slow, and although that might serve some kind of artistic reason it doesn't always work well for the flow of the film. There are not a lot of words in this movie, making it more difficult to act, but the actors do a good job.

The best thing about this movie is the setting. It's almost like every scene is a Vermeer painting. You can recognize items from all his works scattered through the scenes. Even the outside takes are beautiful to look at. The range of colors used are magnificient and that alone makes this movie worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: One Artist Posing for Another
Review: Oh, this movie pierced me to the very depths of my soul, like Vermeer in the movie pierces Griet's ear to wear the pearl earring for his painting ! This movie is a story about Love, not understood romantically, but in spiritual and emotional inter-subjectivity : being able to look into another person and understand (and feel) them fully and connect perfectly through that understanding (and "sympathy") : the very purpose and achievement of great art, like that which Vermeer makes of Griet. Griet, a housemaid, the daughter of an injured (blinded and maimed) amateur painter, is at once for Jan Vermeer both the perfect model and the perfect critic (each role producing the perfection of the other)-- and this allows him to produce the masterwork of a painting, "Girl with a Pearl Earring". What more is there to say ? This movie is to be felt with your eyes and understood with a vision that will happen in your soul. WATCH IT, EVERYONE, AND YOU'LL UNDERSTAND THIS ! It is eminently a movie for men and women alike, for all sensitive people who are "warriors of feeling" and thereby "true connoisseurs of art". And it will make you better understand those perfect artistic moments in life (where everything becomes transparent to us, and we see into the uttermost depths of something/someone else and ourselves), and it will utterly transform the way you look at art whether in galleries (you'll probably visit them more as a result) or on your own walls ! Again, I ask, what more is there to say (what more could be said ?) for a movie, a work of art ?! Only this : there is no gratuitousness in this movie. The concluding sex scene is absolutely necessary and absolutely perfect, and it touched (and radically transformed) my understanding and appreciation of sex, from a woman's perspective. Griet is a tragic figure, a woman of very low social standing, caught in a man's world, who has failed her parents in being evicted as a servant from Vermeer's household. She knows not how to live her life now (how to support her parents : which new household will take her in as a servant when she will become so instantaneously recognizable for having posed for such a masterwork of a painting ?). She knows too, as the attempted rape by Vermeer's patron, van Ruijven, makes plain, that her beauty will cause her to be "bumped on" by other "men". Only two people in her life, Vermeer and her boyfriend/wannabe husband, Pieter, respect and love and see into her. Her virginity will be robbed from her by all other "men". To Pieter (whom she can never marry, she must wander the world to find herself) she can give a final, tender parting gift : in this way, her "first time" is HERS, and remains a gift freely given away, in Love. And so, the sex scene. I love great sex scenes and this is such a one. You will not forget it. YOU WILL NOT FORGET THIS MOVIE. SEE IT AND BE TRANSFORMED IN YOUR HEART AND SOUL !!!