Girl with a Pearl Earring (film)
From AwardAnnals
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| Director(s) | Peter Webber |
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| Distributor | Lions Gate |
| You wouldn’t think a movie could look like a Vermeer painting, but Girl with a Pearl Earring is filmed with an amazing range of luminous glows that evoke the Dutch artist’s masterworks. Of course, it helps that much of the movie centers on Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Ghost World), whose creamy skin and full lips have a luminosity of their own. Johansson plays Griet, a maid in the household of Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Fever Pitch), who finds herself in a web of jealousy, artistic… | |
Reviews
Amazon.com
You wouldn’t think a movie could look like a Vermeer painting, but Girl with a Pearl Earring is filmed with an amazing range of luminous glows that evoke the Dutch artist’s masterworks. Of course, it helps that much of the movie centers on Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Ghost World), whose creamy skin and full lips have a luminosity of their own. Johansson plays Griet, a maid in the household of Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Fever Pitch), who finds herself in a web of jealousy, artistic inspiration, and social machinations. Though the pace is slow, Girl with a Pearl Earring genuinely conveys some sense of an artist’s process, as well as offering many chaste yet sensual moments between Firth and Johansson. Also featuring Essie Davis as Vermeer’s bitter wife and Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom) as a wealthy patron with eyes for Griet. —Bret Fetzer
Barnes and Noble
Scarlett Johansson, the “It” girl of 2003, makes a surprisingly effective period ingénue in this exquisite motion picture, which spins an entrancing yarn around the classic 17th-century portrait familiar to any first-year art student. Seventeen-year-old Griet (Johansson) becomes a maid in the home of married Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), mixing paints for the artist, among other chores. When she displays an amazing affinity for the work, she eventually becomes Vermeer’s model and muse. Beautifully appointed, incisively directed, and brilliantly acted, Girl with a Pearl Earring actually improves upon its source material, the richly detailed novel by Tracy Chevalier, which is a rare feat indeed. Peter Webber’s direction must be credited for the subtle, understated performances of his principal players, who convey deep emotions with the simplest of glances and expressions. Johansson works well with Firth, and the Oscar-nominated costar of Lost in Translation exhibits a maturity beyond her years. Tom Wilkinson also supplies a fine performance as the lecherous, middle-aged nobleman who takes a shine to the maid. The individual scenes are leisurely played for maximum effectiveness, but at 100 minutes the film seems just long enough to put the story across without any dilution of dramatic impact. Tastefully done, and entirely free of the florid melodrama that turns period romances into smarmy bodice-rippers, Girl with a Pearl Earring is a credit to all involved and offers further indication that Johansson could soon become one of our finest actresses. Ed Hulse
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Related works
Girl with a Pearl Earring: A Novel
History and fiction merge seamlessly in this luminous novel about artistic vision and sensual awakening. Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the story of sixteen-year-old Griet, whose life is transformed by her brief encounter with genius…even as she herself is immortalized in canvas and oil.
