Girl with a Pearl Earring
People can sit for hours in front of one painting in a museum, studying its composition, analyzing its texture, following all of its lines. They are consumed by its beauty, craftsmanship and often its back story.
A lot of famous paintings have no such story, or at least not one we know. One such painting is Dutch master Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Peal Earring, which he completed sometime between 1665-1675. The girl in the painting is unknown, but her deep, inviting stare and Vermeer's obvious passionate representation of this woman led author Tracy Chevalier to write a fictionalized account of the story behind the masterpiece.
In this imagined version, brought to the screen by British television director Peter Webber, a young woman named Griet is hired as a maid in the Vermeer household. Timid and humble, Griet discovers a natural affinity for Vermeer's paintings and his keen use of light while cleaning his studio. Soon Vermeer realizes her talent and adds an apprenticeship to her role in the house, much to the chagrin of his constantly pregnant wife and stern mother-in-law. Complicating matters is Vermeer's patron Pieter Van Ruijven, played as written with cartoonish villainy by the usually brilliant Tom Wilkinson.
That's only a minor distraction as the film is really told through Griet's eyes and a perfectly graceful portrayal by Scarlett Johansson. Just like the girl in the painting, Johansson eyes must provide access to the Griet's inner most thoughts, especially as her relationship with Vermeer is fleshed out. The only way he could possibly have captured her on canvas as he did is if she understood exactly what his work is all about. Firth and Johansson communicate more to each other through silent stares than any words could say about the separation in social status that dictates their awkward circumstance.
Webber and cinematographer Eduardo Serra had their hands full capturing not only the perfect light from which Vermeer painted his masterpieces, but also filming a moving painting, if you will. An exceptional recreation of 17th century Holland by the art direction and set design crews helped enormously.
It's a far more fascinating movie than I anticipated—sort of an educational experience about all the lust, love, strife, anguish and pressure that go into a work of art like Girl with a Pearl Earring. After all, a painting is made of more than just paint.
- June 22, 2008
DVD Extras
There's a ridiculous music video featuring a musician and song I didn't recognize, and its connection to the film completely escapes me. But the video did have a vamping Scarlett Johansson in a bustier dress and full pouting lips mode, so it wasn't a total loss. More relevant is an episode of the Sundance Channel's always interesting Anatomy of a Scene, which breaks down a crucial scene in the film during a banquet at the Vermeer house.