:
Colin Firth,
Colin Firth,
Scarlett Johansson,
more...
:
Peter Webber
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: 
: Lions Gate
: Drama, Foreign, Biopics, British Drama, UK
: 100 min.
: English
: English, Spanish
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The subject of one of Johannes Vermeer's most enduring portraits becomes the focus of this biographical period piece from director Peter Webber. Girl With a Pearl Earring is told from the point of view of Griet (Scarlett Johansson), a teenaged girl who leaves her family's care in the country to become a servant for the Vermeer household in the comparatively bustling, canal-laden burgh of Delft. When she arrives, she finds herself at the low end of the servant totem pole, until she's allowed to clean "the master's" painting quarters. There, she catches the eye of the taciturn, reclusive Vermeer (Colin Firth), and over a period of time, he begins to craft her portrait. Of course, this does little to further his relationship with his jealous, pregnant wife, Catharina (Essie Davis), or with his most vocal benefactor, van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson), who often dictates what portraits Vermeer should paint. Meanwhile, Griet navigates a sweet, tentative relationship with a peasant boy her age (Cillian Murphy). Girl With a Pearl Earring had its North American premiere at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Special Features:
- Anatomy of a Scene
- Trailers
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| Sort of good
by shermie
October 19, 2004 - 3:00 PM PDT
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4 out of 6 members found this review helpful
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This movie was as wonderful visually as all the reviews I'd seen of it said. The characterizations were for the most part subtle, something I always like. Central to the story was how women's life choices and their available roles were so limited in that time and place. The movie showed that as a given part of the environment. I myself would have liked more shown about it, but I think if that aspect of the story had been more emphasized it would have been a different movie.
I think the makers of the movie really missed an opportunity to enhance the feeling of glimpsing another time and place by not using period music and instead using innocuous and ubiquitous western european symphonic music. It added nothing at all to the movie. Period music contains so much conscious and unconscious information. I think the makers would have done well to have utilized that.
Lastly, I was not as impressed by Scarlett Johanssen's performance as some others have been. While I thought her performance was mostly well done, I found that there was nothing linking the ways in which the character tended to behave differently with different people, so that rather than letting us see different parts of the character's personality, we would see someone who we thought to be one way acting suddenly very differently, with nothing to link one to the other. Maybe it was an editing or writing problem?
Not that I expected the movie to be like the painting, but I was really surprised by the differences between Johanssen's portrayal and the painting. In the painting, to me the unnamed "Girl" looks curious, engaged with her world, somewhat excited. She has a certain spark. Johanssen's character (I keep saying "character" because I'm not sure how to spell the character's name) on the other hand was much more subdued. Her engagement came from more of a distance, and her curiosity was quieter. It was mostly a thoughtful performance, but sometimes it seemed as if she was thinking about someone other than the girl in the painting. |
| The Girl Stays in the Picture
by WZoller
July 14, 2004 - 6:29 PM PDT
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7 out of 7 members found this review helpful
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| I think this film is very underrated, especially Scarlett Johanson's performance. Recommend seeing the "Anatomy of a Scene" feature before the picture, as it does a good job of setting up the whole story and this important scene. The cinematography is superlative as is all of the actors in this fictional story. Light and color are used to perfection. Enjoy. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.38)
193 Votes
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