Girl with a Pearl Earring

Plot synopsis:
Griet (Scarlett Johansson) is a shy girl living in the Dutch Republic in 1665. Her father, a Delftware painter, has recently gone blind, rendering him unable to work and putting his family in a precarious financial situation. To help matters, Griet is sent to work as a maid in the household of famed painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). Griet works hard, almost wordlessly, in the lowest position in a harsh hierarchy, doing her best despite spiteful treatment by one of Vermeer's children. While she is on a routine shopping trip outside the house, a butcher's son, Pieter (Cillian Murphy), notices Griet and falls in love with her, even though she is slow to return his affections.
As Griet cleans Vermeer's studio, which his wife Catharina (Essie Davis) never enters, the painter begins to converse with her and encourages her appreciation of painting, light and color. Vermeer gives her lessons in mixing paints and other tasks, taking care to keep this secret from his wife, who would react with anger and jealousy if she found out that her husband was spending time with Griet. In contrast, Vermeer's pragmatic mother-in-law, Maria Thins (Judy Parfitt), sees Griet as useful to Vermeer's career.
Vermeer's rich patron, Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson), notices Griet on a visit to the Vermeer household and asks the painter if he will give her up to work in his own house, a situation which ruined a previous girl. Vermeer refuses, but accepts a commission to paint a portrait of Griet for Van Ruijven.
As Vermeer secretly works on the eponymous painting, Catharina cannot help but notice something is amiss and her growing jealousy of Griet becomes apparent. As Griet deals with her growing fascination with Vermeer and his talent, she has to fend off Van Ruijven's attempt to rape her. Soon afterwards, Catharina's mother summons Griet, hands over her daughter's pearl earrings, and instructs Griet to finish the painting while Catharina is away for the day. At the final painting session Vermeer pierces Griet's earlobe so she can wear one of the pearl earrings for the portrait; she then runs to Pieter to be consoled. They caress and make love in a barn. Afterwards, Pieter proposes marriage, but unexpectedly leaves. She then returns the earrings to Catharina's mother.
Catharina discovers that Griet used her earrings, accuses her mother of complicity, and demands Vermeer show her the painting of Griet. Heartbroken that Vermeer does not consider her worthy of being painted because she "doesn't understand," Catharina tries but fails to destroy the painting, then banishes Griet from the house forever. Vermeer does not object, and Griet leaves the house in shock. Later, Griet is visited by the cook from the house, who comes bearing a gift: a sealed packet containing the blue headscarf she wore in the painting, wrapped around Catharina's pearl earrings.

Tags: dramatic, boring, historical, sentimental

Review:
The film is breathtaking alone in the fact that the production team, led by cinematographer Eduardo Serra, production designer Ben Van Os, and art director Christina Shaeffer, manages to capture Vermeer's filling, oil-based colors, and light into every scene.
And this is where the film spends most of its fictional focus: that of creating an imaginary story to help speculate on what we know as factual about Vermeer's life.
Enter a young, beautiful servant girl, Grit (Scarlett Johansson), who through no fault of her own, finds that her classic beauty attracts Vermeer's sensibilities-as a man and as an artist-to such a degree that he has no choice but to capture her on oil and canvas.Vermeer (Colin Firth) spends a lot of time in this film standing quietly in the shadows and peeking around corners.
There's great symbolism in many of these shots-his body is often half-covered, half-exposed, representing the dichotomy he must have felt in his life-that of being in perpetual conflict with his spiritual, artistic longings and the more human qualities of a man.Whereas Vermeer' silence is a result of his being reluctant to communicate with the external world, mostly due to artistic self-absorption, Griet similarly is cut off from humanity, but rather out of innocence, naivety, beauty, and the unfortunate side effect of being at the low end of a rather oppressive Delft caste system where she has little voice outside of the disturbance her beauty stimulates in others.
Indeed, one of the film's more touching moments comes when the artist reveals his portrait of her and Griet replies, 'You've seen into me.' Another memorable moment, if not altogether breathtaking, comes when Vermeer is instructing Griet in how to hold her face at the proper angle in order to catch the appropriate reflection of light on her mouth, and also when he is instructing her in how to mix his paints and their hands, for a split second, brush together.
Wide-eyed, hard-working young woman in Holland circa 1665 leaves home for a job as scullery maid to a painter and his family; quickly, she becomes the artist's secret assistant and muse, eventually posing for Vermeer's famous title-named portrait.
The time customs that were mentioned are also a great asset.Griet looked so much like Vermeer's original painting that I thought in a moment that this was real (but of course it couldn't cause back in 17th century were no cameras around :p).It was a perfect movie for someone interested in art.
Girl with a Pearl Earring is based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier, who tells the story of a forbidden love affair (pardon the cliché) between painting master, Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), and the only woman who seemed to appreciate his work, a timid young maid named Grit (Scarlett Johansson).Grit is hired to work in the Vermeer household.
Art can be worshipped for its own sake, like some wicked effigy, and used to excuse all manner of moral turpitude in its creator; or it can be seen as the entrance by which light can enter our soul, illuminate thought and our world in a way that cold logic alone would deny us, move us beyond the bounds of our immediate impressions and let us see the world about us in a new way, inspired and informed.Griet carries this seed, to see beauty where others see only common place things, and it is a seed that the Master nourishes.
Behind every picture there lies a story, and the film `Girl With a Pearl Earring' purports to give us the inside scoop into the making of Vermeer's classic painting of the same name.
Thanks to luminous cinematography, art direction and costume design, the audience watching this film feels almost as if it has been transported into a Vermeer work.
In Delfti, Holland, 1665, the poor seventeen years old Griet (Scarlett Johansson) is hired as a maid in the household of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), to maintain her family.
"Girl With a Pearl Earring" is a magnificent contemplative art work and a beautiful dramatic romance based on a famous painting, which has this name.
I am a positive fan of movies, I always try to find the beautiful points or entertainment it can offer, instead of looking for destructive parts, like most of the professional critics do, but "Girl With a Pearl Earring" has superseded my uppermost expectations.
"Girl with a Pearl Earring" tells a fictional tale about how the title painting by 17th century Dutch painter Vermeer might have come to be.
She does the back breaking work for the family and deals with the many difficult children and the mistress of the house, but then eventually strikes up a friendship with and develops romantic feelings for Vermeer, culminating with her posing for the painting.While the story is obviously not true, I find the concept of theorizing about the origination of great works of art intriguing, so I really enjoyed the book.
I recently read the book Girl with a Pearl Earring and I was very impressed by the way Tracy Chevalier gave life and credibility to her portrait of Griet and the Dutch painter Vermeer.
Colin Firth and Scarlett Johanson do not strike me as credible characters they do not literally "jump from the screen" as they did indeed jump from the page.Firths body language is moody and closed and it comes across as if he is sulking all the way through the movie rather than enveloped and passionate about his work.
Every other small character in this underdeveloped film goes for the way-too-loud method of acting and just had me cracking up.I saw Girl with a Pearl Earring about a week before the Oscars, for which it had three nominations.
In Holland of 17th century, a humble girl named Griet (Scarlett Johanson) works as a maid in the house of the famous painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth) and somehow contributes into the creation of a masterpiece.The film, just like Tracy Chevalier's book on which is based, narrates an imaginary story about who and what inspired Vermeer and led him make the "Girl With A Pearl Earring" painting.
According to the cinematographer, he didn't want the film look like a collection of Vermeer's paintings because something like that could possibly distract the viewers from the story.
(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon.)One of the things that Tracy Chevalier wanted to do in the novel was to make the relationship between Griet and Johannas Vermeer nonsexual.
It is difficult for me to believe that in that admiration he did not also feel some desire for her.Be that as it may--and I certainly respect Chevalier's interpretation and in fact think it makes for a more interesting story than if there had been some sexual involvement--Vermeer's wife, Catharina, sees in the painting beauty that she herself does not possess.
I think this is consistent with Chevalier's interpretation of what the relationship between the maid and the great artist might have been.This movie surprised me in how beautiful it is and how carefully Peter Webber reconstructed 17th century Delft, Holland.
There are at least three Vermeer paintings in which we see the same light from the same window: the title painting; the painting he was working on without the chair in the foreground that Griet removed called, "Young Woman with a Water Jug"; and "The Painter's Studio." If I made a list of the most beautiful films I have ever seen, Girl with a Pearl Earring would make the list, along with, e.g., Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern (1992) and Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975) and maybe a dozen more.As for Scarlett Johansson who had the title role I must say she won me over.
The film talks about a gorgeous maid (Scarlette Johansson) who goes to work as a servant at Vermeer's (Colin Firth) home in Delft (Holland) location.
It is easy to see why art lovers will flock to see the film adaptation of the Tracy Chevalier book, but Vermeer, the master of Delft, is not in this movie at all.
Granted, it is a pleasant time at the movies, but as far as telling us something about the genius behind a meager art production that the world has come to love and cherish, it will have to wait for another film with better material than this one..
He convinces her to pose for him to paint, although it must be done in secret due to tensions within the Vermeer household as well as gossips and slanderers on the streets.The Girl with a Pearl Earring was one of those films that I knew I should watch but that sat on my HDD for quite some time.
Support from Davis and Wilkinson is good and they do add to the passions of the story with their characters and delivery.The Girl with a Pearl Earring is a slow paced but quite rewarding film.
I love art and thought this film had some beautiful composition in the camera work.A very nice look and feel for the times too.I also thought Scarlett Johansson was quite lovely in the title role and does share a striking resemblance to the girl in the painting.One problem I had was that the movie is a big snore.
This movie takes as its inspiration what could have been the back story for Vermeer's 17th century painting 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' (which we get to see at the end of the film).
Griet (played by the rather dull Scarlett Johansson) goes to work at the house of Vermeer, his histrionic wife, overbearing mother-in-law, and horrible children.Vermeer is played with aplomb by smouldering Colin Firth (as a kind of scruffier Darcy); and Judy Parfitt is good as the matriarch of the house, as is Tom Wilkinson as an odious fellow painter and Cillian Murphy as the butcher's boy.
The true star of the film though is the beautiful mix of cinematography and music which gives the hour and a half of screen time the effect of a slow moving and rich painting..
Instead of an over-wrought,  melodramatic and heavy-handed piece of drivel, we are treated to the exact opposite: a magnificently restrained, hypnotic and sublime work of near-perfect art.This is a movie about what is NOT being said - a movie about nuance, layers of nuance; the opening shot of the onion being peeled is not coincidental, nor is the way Colin Firth (extraordinary as Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer) explains to his young protege and model that the colors in his paintings are added one step at a time.
Audacious feature film directorial debut by Peter Webber adapts the Tracy Chevaier novel about the 17th century Dutch artist Vermeer whose subject matter  his young chambermaid played beautifully by Johansson  raises eyebrows and libidos  with his exquisite paintings and hearfelt adoration for someone he cannot have.Firth  is there anyone else who does heartswelling angst better??- is exceptional in his low-key yet earnestly registered performance while the aforementioned Johansson is equally impressive as the beleagured young woman attempting to rise above her financial trappings for an independent life no thanks to the slimy Wilkinson (having a ball) as the artist's chief benefactor who only wants her.
After one hour into the movie, we finally find out that a fat, rich guy has commissioned Vermeer to paint Griet (Scarlet's character), while also expecting to have sex with her.
The colors, the set design, the costumes and the entire look of the film is like a Vermeer painting come to life--especially in the set that is Vermeer's studio.
These two were wonderful films, but when it comes to Costume Design, Art/Set Decoration and Cinematography, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is, to me, more remarkable.
So, we don't know whether or not one of Vermeer's kids was a brat or if his wife was irrational or if the subject of his painting was his maid or if Vermeer was a horn-dog who liked to sleep with the subjects in his pictures.When it comes to the acting, it might not be everyone's idea of a wonderful film.
This is simply a take on how Vermeer created a mysteriously beautiful portrait of a young girl in his studio, a painting that though small, holds all of the magic of light source, absorption, and reflection that became the hallmark of the great Dutch master painter.
The wearer of the earring is Scarlett Johansson as Griet and she brings to her role a physical beauty of face and presence that make this version of how Vermeer created his 28 masterpieces believable.
If you want to know how could a piece of painting be turned into a movie, you will certainly need to watch Girl With a Pearl Earring.
Griet quickly becomes the target of abuse from the others, most notably Van Rjuiven (Wilkinson), who becomes transfixed by her beauty, and wants to force himself on her so he can have something to remember every time he looks at the painting.The story progresses slowly, which was annoying at times, but the cinematography, the acting, and the whole style of the film helps you through it.Scarlett Johanssen gives a fantastic performance as Griet.
Besides having the feeling of the whole film is literally like a painting -- cinematically delivered in shades of subtle colors and painterly light, Alexandre Desplat's score for "The Girl With a Pearl Earring" is simply entrancing.
Girl with a Pearl Earring is an English production made in Holland of the historical novel fantasizing details of Vermeer's life when he painted one of his most vivid masterpieces.
...after which time, I simply walked out.Wooden acting, stereotypical tormented artist genius, really bad matte painting, and above all maddeningly intrusive music finally won out over some beautiful interior scenes and a really fine performance by Scarlett Johansson, who certainly deserves better roles, and will undoubtedly, if there's any justice in the world, get them.
When 17-year-old Griet (Scarlett Johansson) starts to work as a maid for Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth) she discovers the beauty of art and the passion of love.Holland in the early 17th century: Vermeer is the most popular artist in Delft and father of five, later on in the film six children.
Beyond a sexual and physical level a passionate relationship between the both of them develops.Although not showing nudity and sex the director, Peter Webber, has created an extremely sensual movie with an unbelievably erotic tension between the main characters.Moreover the images are so brilliant and beautiful that the spectator believes himself in an art gallery looking at paintings by great Flemish masters.A calm film, indeed and thus not recommended to those who like action and many words.
Although not being an admirer of Vermeer's way of painting, this film really convinced me to take a look of his work again.
Great film if you like art and Vermeer's work...
Griet (Scarlett Johansson) is a shy girl, which started to work as a maid in the house of Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth).
This film tells us a beautiful story about the history of creation of the picture "Girl with a Pearl Earring".
Scarlett Johansson really hits her stride as Griet showing vulnerability and beauty as well as a yearning to understand art.Colin Firth on the other hand seems to be saddled with a bad wig and you never get into his Vermeer because he always appears to be solemn or brooding or about to lash out as he lives a life of pecuniary and painting commissions in order to make ends meet.Little is known about the artist Vermeer other than that he had lots of children and debt.
Griet (Scarlett Johansson) is a peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth).
Also starring such greats actors as Tom Wilkinson and Cillian Murphy.This movie is based on a fictional story derived from the Dutch masterpiece painting called Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Staring Scarlett Johansson as the seventeen year old Griet, the subject of the painting, the story is of lost innocence and the passion of an artist working on capture natural beauty.
Girl with a Pearl Earring shows a small, but important, part of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer's life, which led to the creation of one of his most famous paintings.
Vermeer's life is seen through the perspective of a young maid working at his house, Griet, who becomes his inspiration for the famous painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring.The film has a slow rhythm and is marked with minimalism, both in dialogue and the show of emotions by the characters.
That's showed clearly throughout the movie.In the film you get the impression that the relationship between Griet and her master Vermeer is deeper than a model-painter relationship.
In the film the director lets us know who the Girl in the Pearl Earring is, it is established how she came about being the model for Vermeer's most famous painting.
Inspired by a book, that is itself inspired only by the painting homonym with the film, The Girl with a Pearl Earring describes the Dutch society at the time, all from the eyes of a young peasant girl, played by Scarlet Johansson.
Girl with a Pearl Earring is an imaginary story around one of the most beautiful paintings ever made.
This was only possible because of the production design, costuming, lighting and the luscious Scarlett Johansson who was brilliantly cast in this role as the nubile Dutch maid.There was one other scene in the studio when Griet silently watched Johannes painting another model for another picture.
Scarlett Johansson does a good job playing Griet, an innocent girl who begins to work at the house of 'Master Vermeer,' and it is not long before Johansson and her love of art catch Vermeer's eye.