Girl With A Pearl Earring

Review – The Girl With A Pearl Earring is a curiosity to me.  The film is based on the 17th century Dutch artist, Johannes Vermeer’s painting of the same name.  It’s a semi-familiar piece of work to most people, even if not by name and the film depicts how the painting came about.

I’m curious about the fiction.  How much of this story is true?

In the end that matters little to most of you but if someone knows, gimme the 411, ok.

Colin Firth plays Vermeer the artist, married with many children and surrounded by people who have no understanding about the creation of art.  His mother-in-law helps to get him commissions that he seems none to thrilled with and its used as a means to support the family.  Talk about tortured artists.  This guy’s got it bad.  More like depressed artist.

Tom Wilkinson plays the commissioner of Vermeer’s paintings and has taken an unhealthy like to Vermeer’s new maid, Griet, played by Scarlett Johansson and has commissioned a specific work using Griet as the sole subject.  This commission will become the painting known as Girl With A Pearl Earring.

None of this is spoiler information because that’s really not what the film is about.  It’s interesting really, because the film is about the characters and there interactions.  It seems more about understanding than anything else.  The key to that, in this film, is to remove any dialogue that would give you that understanding and leave the quiet spaces for you to fill in the blanks.  It’s most effective in that endeavor yet may seem boring or just too quiet to some.

Nominated for two Academy Awards, cinematography and art direction, Girl With A Pearl Earring is a worthy effort, a little grey but well acted.

-m-