Pros: A Ravishing, Breathtaking Film from Peter Webber.
Cons: Some Omitted Characters & Subplots will Upset Fans of the Book.
The Bottom Line: Peter Webber's film adaptation of "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is filled with breathtaking beauty and imagery with spellbinding performances from Firth & Johansson. (4.5 out of 5).
thevoid99's Full Review: Girl with a Pearl Earring
When news of a film version of Tracy Chevalier’s 1998 best-selling novel “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, about the famous Johannes Vermeer painting, came to the forefront. Many who knew about film adaptations on best-selling novels it would have a hard time to live up to the book. Some were good while others aren’t. In the case of Peter Webber’s film adaptation of “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, the result is a film that is breathtaking with its luminous, evocative imagery of mid-17th Century Dutch at the Delft. The story is a fictional account about the young woman as the famed Vermeer painting entitled “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. In that story, the young woman is a maid named Griet, who is forced by tragedy, to become the maid for Vermeer’s tumultuous household while becoming a reluctant muse for his paintings and enduring the unwanted attention of the people involved including a greedy patron and a young butcher.
In Webber’s directorial debut, his presentation of Chevalier’s novel is darker and more minimalistic as he and screenwriter Olivia Hetreed present a film with intense drama, suspense, and sexual tension that was a bit overlooked in Chevalier’s lengthy, evocative novel. While fans of the book might be upset, understandably, about some cuts on the story and omission of some noted characters and subplots, Webber brings in a film that is heightened more by its dramatic overtones, Eduardo Serra’s worldly visuals, and a rich cast led by Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, and Scarlett Johansson in career-defining roles. The film version of “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is a rich, luscious film that takes the audience back in time while leaving them breathless.
The film begins when a young woman named Griet (Scarlett Johansson) is forced to leave the once-loving home to work as a maid for a rich family in an upper class, Catholic area of Delft. Griet’s father (Chris McHallem) was a tile painter who had recently become blind after an accident as his inability to work forced Griet to become a maid. Griet leaves her home with her belongings including a tile made by her father. She arrives at the home of the Vermeers where she meets up with another maid Tanneke (Joanna Scanlan), who instructs her on the things and duties she must do which includes cleaning the studio of painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). Griet sleeps in the basement with an image of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary looming over her as she meets up with Vermeer’s wife Catharina (Essie Davis), who is pregnant with another child and her children that includes the mischievous Cornelia (“The Others” Alakina Mann), and mother Maria Thins (Judy Parfitt).
Maria Thins gives Griet the instructions on what she must do to the studio while making sure she doesn’t intrude on things she shouldn’t know about. Tanneke accompanied Griet one day to the butcher’s shop where she meets up with a young butcher named Pieter (Cillian Murphy of "28 Days Later”), who takes an interest with her. Griet would do her duties including at one point when Catharina gives birth to another child, a message to Vermeer’s patron, Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson) who also takes an interest in Griet. Griet finds herself uncomfortable when Van Ruijven is around, especially when Vermeer presents him with a finished painting as he asks Vermeer about the next painting. One day when Griet is cleaning Vermeer’s studio, Vermeer sees her and asks her to stand in a position, where she would become a reluctant muse for his next painting.
Outside of the Vermeer’s home, Griet finds herself comforted by Pieter, who wants to offer her a simpler life than the one she’s having now. At the Vermeer home, she is forced to endure the mischievousness of Cornelia who smeared dirt on laundry that forced Griet to slap her with Cornelia, in turn breaking an object of Griet’s that made her more fragile. Then one day while lurking around in the studio, she notices a gigantic box-like contraption that Vermeer was using called the camera obscura where she looked inside and saw things that didn’t see in the painting. On one winter day, she runs an errand for Catharina where Vermeer asks her to get some things for his paintings. Vermeer wants her to mix and grind things for him just to have a finished painting while showing Griet what colors he’ll use that manipulates the image.
With Catharina pregnant again, Griet moves to the attic to be closer to Vermeer and use it as a room to mix and grind colors for him while Cornelia again, tried to cause trouble on Griet but with bad consequences. With the painting of a woman with a jug finished, Vermeer presents it to Van Ruijven who wants to be part of a painting with his wife and daughter and he wants Griet involved. Vermeer doesn’t like the idea nor does Pieter, who is worried because of she might get caught up in Vermeer’s world. Van Ruijven makes a compromise where he would do a painting with just Van Ruijven and his family and another that is just Griet. For Vermeer, he finds himself in a compromised position but finds some relief as an artist when he makes Griet the muse for his greatest painting. Only Vermeer, Griet, Van Ruijven, and Maria Thins knows about the painting that Griet will be as Maria Thins tries to hide it from Catharina.
Griet finds herself in an even more uncomfortable position as Catharina is looking at her very warily while Van Ruijven is eyeing her more with unhealthy reasons and Cornelia trying to find out what is going on. Griet finds herself a bit uncomfortable with Vermeer, as she becomes his painting; especially at one moment where she reveals her hair underneath the cap she’s worn throughout the whole time. Finally, Vermeer finishes the painting with one thing he needed to be completed but at a high cost for everyone involved.
In some aspects, the film version of “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is superior to the book for various reasons. One is that the pacing is much faster while the characters are shown in a clearer light than in Chevalier’s novel, which at times is a bit slow and more complex in some parts. Fans who loved the book will not like the way some subplots are cut while they wonder why some parts in the book are moved quickly and are placed in one scene as opposed to an earlier incident. That’s one notable flaw in the film version of “Girl with a Pearl Earring” since screenwriter Olivia Hetreed was trying to approach things faster and in a more minimalist way which does work in the film’s dramatic presentation and the result is a successful adaptation of the book.
Peter Webber’s direction is spectacular in giving elements of suspense and drama while he makes sure everything in grand detail; the whole film looks like the mid-17th Century Dutch. Film’s cinematographer Eduardo Serra does an amazing job in giving the film a ravishing look with its blue-gray look in the film’s winter scenes, the drab tone in the town of Delft, and scenes of the night with real candle-light lanterns, and of course Vermeer’s studio. Webber and Serra make sure the audience is at a different time and it feels like that we’re transported into the 17th Century. Even in some scenes, there are moments where its subtlety and lushness is so well shot; it looks like you’re seeing a moving painting.
Another noted factor for that authentic tone is the film’s score by Alexandre Desplat, who brings in suspense to his classically arranged orchestra with flutes and oboes playing in some parts that gives that feeling of the 17th Century. The art direction of Christina Schaffer and Ben van Os’ production design should be noted for its detailed look of 17th Century Dutch while costume designer Dien van Straalen should be also be noted for the clothing, not just the maid and butcher’s clothing but the grand, lavish look of the dresses Essie Davis and Judy Parfitt wears where at times, it looks you’re looking at a painting.
Then there’s the film’s performance that is filled with a cast so rich and well performed, it’s hard to figure out how to make it even more perfect. While the role of Tanneke was a much harsher, more resentful in the Chevalier novel, Joanna Scanlan brings in more brash tone to the film where she brings in some comic relief to the film since she often talks about the Vermeers’ household while playing a sympathetic figure to Griet, outside of the turmoil of the Vermeers. Alakina Mann is amazing as the troublesome Cornelia as she plays a girl who is unlikable and you know that she shouldn’t be seeing things that she shouldn’t know about. Mann definitely brings in a brooding tone to Cornelia as a little girl you love to hate. Judy Parfitt is also noteworthy in her performance as the watchful Maria Thins, who knows that Vermeer should be painting but her character is as ambiguous in the film than in the book since she really cares for financial reasons since the Vermeers were in debt while she plays another sympathetic character to Griet.
Cillian Murphy brings a heartwarming performance as Pieter, who is sympathetic and more relaxed than the greediness of Van Ruijven and the artist-driven of Vermeer. Murphy’s performance is so charming; it brings a smile to people’s faces as well as the vulnerable Griet. Essie Davis is a huge, notable standout as Catharina, especially in the film’s final moments where she looks with immense suspicion and the end results of what she sees. While her character is unlikable, Davis does bring sympathy to her character, even if it’s for the wrong reasons and Davis deservedly should be getting some notices for this role. The best supporting performance of the film aside from Murphy and Davis is Tom Wilkinson, who no doubt should get an Oscar nomination for his role as the lecherous Van Ruijven. Wilkinson brings in some funny one-liners while playing a character you love to hate as he is consumed by his own greed of great paintings and control of Vermeer while wanting Griet for all the wrong reasons. Wilkinson is brooding and enigmatic and he’s been way overdue for an Oscar, the only people I think he should watch out for in the Supporting category are Judah Friedlander of “American Splendor” and Peter Sarsgaard in “Shattered Glass”.
Colin Firth, probably best known for his comedic roles in “Bridget Jones’ Diary”, “What a Girl Wants” and the recent hit romantic-comedy “Love Actually” gives his most accomplished performance to date. Firth brings in an awe-inspiring performance as Vermeer where he displays elements of vulnerability as this tortured artist trying to compromise his own integrity while dealing with what everyone wants from him, except Griet. Firth even brings some brash sex appeal to the role that would probably make women want to become his muse. Firth also is charismatic in his performances, even in the scenes with Essie Davis as he plays a loving but troubled husband while in the scenes with Tom Wilkinson, we see him as someone quiet until a scene when Van Ruijven grabs Griet in an uncomforting way where Firth plays the man in shining honor trying to protect his muse. Firth, no doubt, should get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in this role, he’d be a good opponent against Bill Murray in “Lost in Translation”, Paul Giamatti in “America Splendor” and Sean Penn for his roles in "21 Grams” and “Mystic River”. This is by far, my favorite performance from the enigmatic Colin Firth.
Finally, the film’s best performance without a doubt goes to Scarlett Johansson. The Griet character, originally supposed to be played by Kate Hudson and then going to Samantha Morton, Julia Stiles, and Kirsten Dunst, is one of the most compelling and luminous roles that are very hard to play and the end result shows that Johansson played the role perfectly. If Johansson wasn’t up for that role, the actress who could’ve done that role easily would’ve been Morton but the only problem is that she’s a bit too old. Hudson wouldn’t have done a good job since she’s never really proven herself to be a strong dramatic actress and is way more into the spotlight rather than being a serious actress. Stiles wouldn’t fare well either since she hasn’t done a lot of impressive films while she is too monotone for the role vocally and emotionally. Dunst might have done an adequate or a good job but she hasn’t proven herself enough to have the dramatic range wanted for Griet.
The reason Johansson made the character work is because she brought in a performance where most of the time, she doesn’t speak. She just lets the camera do the speaking for as the audience sees what she is thinking as she looks on in this tumultuous household of the Vermeers. Even if you look at her next to the real painting, she eerily looks like that girl in that famed painting. A trademark Johansson has been perfecting in her great film roles like “Manny & Lo”, “The Horse Whisperer”, “Ghost World”, “An American Rhapsody”, “The Man Who Wasn’t There”, and most recently the Sofia Coppola masterpiece “Lost in Translation”. Johansson brings a complex performance as this fragile, soft-spoken, voyeuristic young woman who is trying to survive the situations she’s in.
Even in scenes with other actors, she’s very quiet in most parts while we see her in comforting positions with Murphy and Firth where the chemistry in those parts work. Johansson’s scenes with Firth are the most important as there’s elements of sexual tension throughout the film as the audience would want them to fall in love but there’s something holding them apart. Johansson shows some subversive tactics in her roles, especially in the film’s more vulnerable scenes where instead of crying, she is struggling with her emotions and trying to hold on.
While “Lost in Translation” was overall, the better film, Johansson’s performance in “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is a career-defining role for the 19-year-old actress. Not many young starlets will reach to the level that she’s raised, with the exception of Jena Malone, Zooey Deschanel, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, since the performance is without a doubt a hard one to play, especially since Johansson had to speak in an English accent throughout the film, which she did very well at. Then of course, there are the Oscars. Now more traditional voters will go for Nicole Kidman in “Cold Mountain”, Diane Keaton in “Something’s Gotta Give” Cate Blanchett in “The Missing” or Julia Roberts in “Mona Lisa Smile” while recently, there’s been some noteworthy performances from Hope Davis in “American Splendor”, Patricia Clarkson in “The Station Agent”, Samantha Morton in “In America”, and Naomi Watts in "21 Grams”. Johansson though, truly deserves a nomination and it would very hard to overlook her, especially at the young age she’s in. If she does get nominated, it will be one race that’ll be too close to call.
***Updated Info 5/24/04 on DVD Tidbits***
While the actual film looks extremely ravishing in its 16:9 Widescreen (2:35:1) format that is almost superior to the film in comparison to watching in the theaters. The DVD features though are a bit disappointing, notably due to the fact that the versions outside of the U.S. gets better treatment with deleted scenes (that would satisfy more of the fans of the book) and audio commentary from director Peter Webber. Unfortunately for the American version released by Lions Gate, the DVD features for “Girl with a Pearl Earring” are sparse.
Aside from the English 5.1 Dolby Digital sound and English and Spanish subtitles, the DVD features only feature two tidbits. One is a promotional video for the film for the song “Girl With A Pearl” by Geffen artist Truman. Directed by Merl Alvist, the video shows the singer singing a song and performing in a room with a copy of the famed painting and appearing in the video is Scarlett Johansson. Truman unfortunately, doesn’t notice her since he’s just rocking or playing piano and she’s trying to get his attention with her icy blond hair and high-top Stevie Nicks boots. While the song isn’t bad, the video though is pretty good, notably for Johansson’s video appearance though she appeared in a better video for Kevin Shields’ “City Girl” directed by “Lost in Translation” director Sofia Coppola.
The best feature for all film snobs and makers is the Anatomy of a Scene special from the Sundance Channel. Johansson, Webber, the book’s author Tracy Chevalier, screenwriter Olivia Hetreed, producer Andy Paterson, cinematographer Eduardo Serra, composer Alexandre Desplat, editor Kate Evans, and art director Christina Schaffer are interviewed in the special. They talk about the birth/banquet scene that was originally two different parties that Hetreed wrote into one since this is where all the characters in the film are shown. Johansson explains one part of the scene was edited where Tom Wilkinson’s Van Ruijven grabs Johansson’s Griet in a suggestion to Vermeer to paint her but editor Kate Evans felt it was too early so they moved that to another scene later on. Easily it’s the best feature because it gives details into a how a scene was made and how the set was produced and created and the filmmaking process with Johansson and Webber giving light to how a scene can be made.
***End of DVD Features***
“Girl with a Pearl Earring” is a beautiful, breathtaking film led by Peter Webber’s evocative direction and a luminous cast led by the enigmatic performances of Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. It’s one film many fans of art will have to watch, notably art historians. Though some parts might not please fans of the book, they will find some satisfaction in the film’s look and tone as well as its cast. Though it’s not exactly a great film, it’s still one of the best films of the year and one of the best film adaptations of best-selling novels. For Peter Webber, it’s one hell of a directorial debut that will be hard to live up with while Tom Wilkinson and Colin Firth give their best performances to date. For Scarlett Johansson, this along with her role in “Lost in Translation” will deem her as the best actress of her generation.
Delft, Holland, 1665. Seventeen-year old Griet must work to support her family and becomes a maid in the house of Johannes Vermeer, where she graduall...More at Buy.com
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