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Girl with a Pearl Earring

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The shimmering city of Delft leaps from the pages of Tracy Chevalier's delicately descriptive novel onto the screen in the film 'Girl With a Pearl Earring'. 17th century Holland is recreated with breathtaking splendor. From the folds of the dresses to the attitudes of the day, the film stays in character and does not add Hollywood gimmicks to modernize the tale. Servants are servile and illiterate, though not necessarily unintelligent. The titular teenage maid does not have an insolent attitude.

Scarlett Johansson plays the young Griet, the daughter of a former tile painter who is sent across town to serve the Vermeer household. Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), a painter, is drawn to Griet's quiet loveliness. Though few words pass between them, their mutual eye for aesthetics develops into strong attraction and deep appreciation. Her pure complexion also attracts Vermeer's vulgar patron, Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson) and the young butcher Pieter (Cillian Murphy).

Each frame is a painting within itself, supported by a charming score (though some have called the music obnoxious). Though every scene is beautiful, Griet's position is not romanticized; her arduous labor is evident throughout the movie. Instead of altering the story to conform to a 95 minute film, sections of the story are simply deleted or unexplained. Particularly the character of Tanneke is underdeveloped, compared to the book character.

The acting is dramatic yet understated. Expressions are affectively portrayed without losing subtlety. Johansson expressively displays the young, almost timid side of Griet. Colin Firth is an attractive Vermeer; he has natural and exciting reactions. Tom Wilkinson is surprisingly low key as Van Ruijven, compared to the character in the novel; however, he still manages to be repulsive. Essie Davis's performance is also a standout as Vermeer's insecure wife, Catharina.

'Girl With a Pearl Earring' establishes its setting in an unforgettable light, and the story has enough magic to satisfy the patient viewer. Might I add that Cillian Murphy is beautiful.

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.

What quietly compelling 2003 movie stars Scarlett Johansson and an older leading man having a platonic relationship in an exquisitely photographed, meticulously designed foreign locale? If you said, "Lost in Translation," you'd be right, but if you said, "Girl With a Pearl Earring," you'd also win the cigar. That "Lost in Translation" may be the second-best of the two indicates that "Girl With a Pearl Earring" deserves nothing but the highest praise. Johansson stars as Griet, a poor, illiterate young woman in 17th-century Delft who hires on as a maid in the household of the rising young painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). Slowly the moody, obsessed Vermeer begins to recognize in Griet a kindred spirit--someone who, though untutored, has a natural feeling for light, color and design. But their friendship is blighted from the start, thanks to Vermeer's jealous wife (Essie Davis), greedy mother-in-law (Judy Parfitt) and lustful patron (Tom Wilkinson). The performances are all quietly effective; the jury's still out on Johansson's range as an actress, but she is a singularly moving screen presence, and the camera adores her. Also deserving note are Davis, who makes Madame Vermeer both hateful and pitiable; Parfitt, a specialist in the portrayal of dragon mothers; and Cillian Murphy as Griet's boyfriend Pieter, a heartthrob in the making, who looks startlingly like the young Rudolf Nureyev. But the real stars of the production are the team of director Peter Webber, photographer Eduardo Serra and production designer Ben Van Os. Thanks to them, "Girl With a Pearl Earring" glows with a passionate beauty. Every single frame of the film looks like a Vermeer painting in motion, and the moment at which Griet poses for the eponymous painting will take your breath away with its perfection. Except perhaps for Tavernier's "A Sunday in the Country," I can't think of another feature film that brings art so vividly to life as "Girl With a Pearl Earring."

There are films about painters ("Lust for Life") and painting ("The Agony and the Ecstasy"), but it is rare to find a film about the art of painting, and that is one of the great strengths of "Girl with a Pearl Earring." The film is based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier, with a screenplay by Olivia Hetreed, that imagines a whole story behind Johannes Vermeer's painting, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (1665-66) involving the Dutch painter, his family, and the model he used for what is his most famous and most intriguing painting.

Griet (Scarlett Johannson), is a young girl from a Calvinist family who has to seek employment as a maid in the Roman Catholic household of the famous painter. She is given her duties, one of which is to clean the upstairs studio, but only when the master is not busy painting. Even Vermeer's wife, Catharine (Essie Davis) will not enter that place, for reasons we will learn about later. Before she meets the artist (peter Firth), Griet sees his current painting, "Woman with a Pearl Necklace" (1664-65) and we can tell from her eyes that she is looking at something wondrous.

We know that Griet is no fool, because she refuses to accept bad meat from the local butcher, which causes his son, Pieter (Cillian Murphy), to notice her. But in the house she is beneath notice, told not to speak until spoken to first. One day she asks the ladies of the house, Catharina and her mother, Maria Thins (Judy Parfitt), if when she is cleaning the studio if she should do the windows. Her concern is that doing so would change the light. The women look at her without comprehension and Catharina tells her to go ahead and clean the windows. For Maria these are just paintings, things that allow her son-in-law to make money, but for Griet they are something else, and it while cleaning the windows in the corner of the studio that Vermeer used in most of his paintings, that the artists sees her and discovers a new source of inspiration.

The fact that neither his perpetually pregnant wife nor his coin counting mother-in-law has any appreciation for art explains in large part why Vermeer is drawn to Griet. She might not be able to read but he asks her what color are the clouds, she knows the obvious answer is not right for a painter and comes up with the correct one. But then when Vermeer shows her the canvas he is working on, "Young Woman with a Water Pitcher" (1994-65), she knew that the colors were all wrong, and he explains why.

This is a film in which the most erotic moment comes when we finally see Griet's hair, although others might disagree and find mixing paints to be the height of the film's sexuality. But I tended to dismiss such things because I find "Girl with a Pearl Earring" to be about an intimacy that transcends the mere physical realm of sex (the actual painting is of intimate size, 18 by 16 inches). Whatever feelings they might have for each other have to be expressed in other ways, because this is a film that has its sensibilities firmly set in the world of art in the 17th century. Besides, the venality of man is amply represented by Vermeer's patron, the wealthy businessman Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson).

Ultimately the film comes down to not just the girl, but to the pearl earring, which belongs to Catharine, but which Vermeer insists must be dangling from Griet's ear in the portrait. Griet knows this is going too far, but we know that she cannot deny him in the end, especially since we have seen the finished painting, which is one of the most beguiling in art history this side of "The Mona Lisa." But also because she is given a push in a somewhat surprising move by one of the characters. The notion that if this is romance it is of a transcendent type that cannot be judged by normal rules. He immortalizes her in a painting and what does she do in return? She lets him pierce her ear and of equal importance, she moves a chair. I so admire films that can work on that lyrical a level.

This 2003 film has been nominated for Oscars for Cinematography Eduardo Serra, Art Direction, set director Ben van Os and set decorator Cecile Heidman, and Costume Design by Dien van Straalen. All clearly take their inspiration from Vermeer's paintings. The lighting throughout the film reflects that of Vermeer's studio, which means it never looks quite as good when we are elsewhere, because the studio is the heart of the film. Tanneke (Joanna Scanlan), the family maid, looks like "The Milkmaid" (1958-60) and Vermeer's wife at one point is costumed exactly like "Woman in Blue Reading a Letter" (1663-64).

Like the painting from which it takes its name and whose enduring image naturally ends the film, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is Quiet and contemplative. The entire story is speculative because little is known about Vermeer besides his 35 painting, and whether his model for this one was his daughter, a neighbor, or a tradeswoman, no one will ever know. But it is impossible not to look at this painting without wondering who this girl was and what thoughts are going through her mind.

Johannson's performance commands the film, although she is seldom required to speak and rarely asked what she might be thinking. Parfitt as the true power in the Vermeer household offers the other stellar performance, while Firth's dazzling charm from other films is sublimated to his character's artistic temperament. Of course, the greatest compliment that can be paid to first time director Peter Webber is that he has crafted this film with the same care that Vermeer used in painting his own canvases.

Before seeing it, the film seems straightforward. Just about a girl with pearl earring in her ear lobe, right? No. The film tries to look deeper into Vermeer's stunning painting by offering Chevalier's interpretation of who the young girl was. However, where the film succeeds is flexibly creating a tentative but emotionally explosive relationship between master and servant - Firth and Johansson.

Set in 17th century in the Netherlands, the film begins calmly, carefully unravelling itself to the viewer so that one can absorb it visually and mentally. The pace can be seen as slow but this type of film needs that type of pace to make it work because if it was fast, how could we as the viewers enjoy the tentative, innocent and beautiful love that Griet and Vermeer share?

Scarlett Johansson plays Griet, the quiet and demure Dutch maid that invokes anger, jealousy and confusion in Catherina's heart (Essie Davis) while indirectly capturing Johannes Vermeer's attention (Colin Firth) and Master van Ruijven sleazy eye (acted with pure sinisterness by Tom Wilkinson). In one aspect, what ensues makes the film very good in my eyes because it portrays the issues of the impressive supporting cast such as Cornelia's blatant antagonism towards Griet, Catherina's undeniable envy and Pieter's unrequited interest in Griet while simultaneously using them as a platform to present the perfect example of repressed love between two people who know that they are worlds apart.

Johansson was simply magnificent in this film. I will be surprised and annoyed if she does not get an Oscar nomination because she played this part with such precision, it is hard to see another woman who could match her emotive performance.

Firth always delivers but this time, he was sublime. Like Johansson in terms of intensity, Firth was outstanding as the pensive but caring painter who appeared as if he was preoccupied with a certain someone.

The brilliance of this film does not only stem from the actors, the cinematography is a visual feast for the eyes and the soundtrack fits the shy mood of the film.

Slight apprehension before walking into the cinema. Delight after enjoying it, Frustration that Firth & Johansson are meant to be but as fate wants, do not find their way to each other.

"Girl with a Pearl Earring" is a work of art both thematically and literally. This movie is one of the most beautifully photographed and lit that I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot of movies!) In addition, the performances are subtle, nuanced and ultimately overwhelming.

The movie takes place in mid-17th century Holland. Griet, a 15-year old girl from a proud but recently impoverished family, takes a job as a maid with the family of Johannes Vermeer, the painter.

The family has a well-defined cast of characters: Johannes(or Jan) played by a smoldering Colin Firth, whose art takes precedence over anything in his life, including food and heat for his family; his beautiful but silly wife who lives for her jewels; his many children; and his mother-in-law/sales agent, who will do anything to keep selling his paintings. The Vermeer family depends on the good graces of their patron, played by a wicked Tom Wilkinson, who commissions and collects Jan's paintings.

Griet has an artist's eye-for example, she is concerned about dusting the windows and changing the light-and slowly, very slowly, Vermeer begins to appreciate her gifts. His patron notices her beauty and commissions a painting of her (with the hope that Griet will thank him in kind). The interplay between Griet (an outstanding Scarlett Johansson) and Vermeer simmers with erotic tension. Nothing much happens-their hands briefly touch, they are beneath a blanket together-but then again a lot happens.

I would recommend this movie to lovers of art and lovers of art house movies. If you're not used to or a fan of "artsy movies", well this may not be for you. But if you are, well you're in for a treat.

At least I wasn't the woman five rows down with a snoring husband on her hands....

Instead I was the woman who, upon leaving the theatre, didn't quite know how to feel about this film. After reading all of the glowing reviews for it, though, I must say that I feel rather guilty for not rating it as highly. Understand, I have no set criterea for what makes a good movie, really. If it touches me or entertains me, if it shows me something I've never seen before or perhaps teaches me something, it was worth the time and money spent. In all honesty, I'm not sure that I can say that 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' did any of those things.

The main reason for seeing it, I must admit, was to watch Colin Firth. He's a fine and compelling--not to mention often underrated--actor. And he has a wonderful knack for pulling off period characters. Plus, he does 'brooding' very well. And the second reason for seeing it was for its theme/concept. I love speculative fiction that involves art, though I've never read the novel upon which this movie is based. For the first reason I was paid back in spades. For the second...not so much.

The movie's backdrop was spectacular. As other's have noted, the color and the light were just beautiful. A particular scene comes to mind--when Griet is walking with the butcher's son through what I suppose was some kind of park or forested area and the light was golden and subdued--and it was just so surreal and evocative...I felt like I could touch it as though that one scene was nothing more than a still, a canvas with paint that had been applied so lush and thick. But exquisite scenery couldn't help the pacing and even though the story needed to build slowly, it grew a bit tedious. Especially since a lot of the film is caught in some kind of hush. There is very little dialogue and even music is used sparingly.

There is no denying the intimacy between Vermeer as portrayed by Firth and Griet. It was lovely to watch. But...I guess, for me, it wasn't enough that that intimacy stood as the substance of the film.

By the time it drew to its conclusion, my companion was frustrated by its lack of, well, a conclusion. It is very open-ended and you are left to your own devices in figuring out what road Griet has taken. You are not entirely sure where it is ending and what has happened to many of the players. As I understand it, the book finishes a little bit more definitely than the film. For some, the obscurity of the ending could be a little bit of a put off.

I wouldn't say that one should not see this movie. Though I can't say I would recommend it heartily either. I know that once the credits were scrolling by I felt nothing. I had no immediate response (which was odd because I thought I surely would) and I couldn't have given anyone a definite "yes, I liked it" or "no, I didn't" if they were to ask me right then. Perhaps my expectations were just too high.

If you don't know much about painting, or Verneer for that matter, you don't have to worry. 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' is not about the painting of the title itself; the film is rather a romance behind the (much fictional) account of the making of the painting, or the forbidden relation between a man and a girl. As such, it is stunning, so are the actors, especially Scarlet Johanssen.

The simple story begins with a girl Griet perfectly played by New-York-State born Johanssen. Living in Holland, 1665 (around the time the painting is supposed to be made), Griet now has to work at the painter Verneer's house as maid, and as you may expect, the menial jobs only make the life there very drab.

But the painter himself, rather strange, and laconic guy Verneer (Colin Firth, with long hair), is not a bad master. By the time she understands that, she actually becomes the only person who in turn understands the importance of his work in the entire household of his. And the painter, whose wife just don't understand, and who is surrounded by many (more than 10) kids, also finds a solace in her....

The film could be more melodramatic, and some part almost become so (the theatrical portrait of Tom Wilkinson's greedy patron nearly did it), but thanks largely to the subtle lighting of photographer Eduardo Serra (known for Patrice Leconte films) and very credible production designs by Ben Van Oz (known for Peter Greenaway films), the film itself becomes a Vermeer painting itself. The story, relying on less dialogues than other costume films, manages to be engaging and involving, with the superb acting from the two leads.

But the greatest thing happens at the ending, which is inspired by the original painting. How to end a film is one of the trickiest parts of the job, and 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' ends with a very clever, and also beautiful way. It still remains with me.

Some may call the film predictable, but that is a minor thing. As a costume drama this film is first-rate, but first and foremost it is a romance with a heart, the very universal theme.

Peter Webber's film "Girl With A Pearl Earring" speculates about the events around the painting of Vermeer's masterpiece of the same name. The art direction, costumes, sets and cinematography do a fantastic job of invoking that time period. Small details such as how the actual paint was made from the various ingredients Vermeer would gather add a wonderful authenticity to the proceedings.

Scarlett Johansson portrays Griet, a young woman from a family that has come upon financial hardhip only recently and needs Griet to work to help support the family. Griet goes to be the maid in the household of the great Painter.

As a woman in a male-dominated society of centuries ago, eons before words like "political correctness" or "sexual harrassment" were coined, Griet is subject to the whims of her social superiors, and as maid almost everyone she meets is socially her superior. Griet has spunk, though, and I liked the scene where Vermeer's bratty daughter deliberately smears Griet's freshly hung laundry with her muddy hand - Griet slaps the brat, then goes to pack her things thinking she is about to be let go.

Vermeer sees something in Griet that he doesn't see in his family or acquaintances. Griet has an artists eye, and an eagerness for learning, so Vermeer becomes both her master (as in employer) and her mentor.

Complications arise as Vermeer's wife does not possess the artistic eye and is insanely jealous, and Vermeer's wealthy patron Van Ruijven pays the bills but doesn't hesitate to puts his eyes and hands on any woman he cares to.

I found the work realistic, and the movie has a real orchestral score that compliments the film well. Highly recommended for those with an artistic bent.

It is a joy to watch this definitive art movie, helped with one of the most exceptional cinemaphotagraphy ever made. The entire film was like stepping into a painting and each scene is like a painting in itself. It always amazes me how good a movie can be with so little dialogue spoken. A good actor can speak volumes with just a glance. A stolen glance, or a seemingly accidental touch between the two central characters---the artist Johannes Vermeer and his iridescent house maid Griet, communicated more subtly than any words could ever. I have always loved Flemish paintings for their simplicity and the use of light. And this is story telling at its best, a movie with heart and soul...about a painting many art critics call "The Mona Lisa of the North."

This is not a fast paced movie. Vermeer's paintings are incredibly hypnotic, drawing us into a time and place that no longer exists. The elementally envigorating music mixes well with the time and place. It's good to be transported several centuries back to live for a moment through the eyes of Griet (Johanson) and Vermeer (Firth). They played well the repressed passion between the two that was so thrilling where the film stayed so close to the plot of the book. I would recommend this film to anyone who has an eye for beauty or films that involve thought and emotion rather than just gratuitous explosions of violence and random sex...despite some flawed pieces in the story line: In the film, as in the book, the painting is commissioned by the patron Van Ruiven specifically because he is in lust with Griet, and Van Ruiven carefully specified who he wanted to be in it (Griet). Katarina's (Vermeer's wife) fury towards the end of the film therefore doesn't make sense at all.
Also Vermeer's gift to Griet of the pearl earrings is not believable. At the end of the film (and story), Vermeer would have known that after several years, Griet was married and living comfortably, while his eleven children were going to be destitute when he is gone. It is hard to believe that he would have given away valuable pearls to a former maid, even under the strength of his feelings for her, when the earrings weren't even his to give; they belonged to his wife.

Still the movie is a stunning visual experience. GWAPE is a Vermeer painting come to life. The cinematography was marvelous, but the editing and direction didn't live up to what could have been a more magical film about obsession, love, beauty and art. Not that the film doesn't work, because it does...it just feels incomplete as a whole. I ended watching the movie wanting more out of the experience. All of this said, it is still a gorgeous, worthwhile film... just one that isn't as great in the end as it should have been. It won't go down as a great film, but there is a great film lurking somewhere inside it.

Colin Firth brings his considerable repertoire of talents as the enigmatic Johannes Vermeer and makes him a formidable figure with sparse dialogue. Scarlet is the perfect Greit. Perhaps it is Scarlet Johanson's movie, and it may very well be. But Firth has the film in his own quiet and strong competent grasp. All the actors are outstanding...and this memorable movie is worthy to be seen again and again.
5 out of 5