Review of Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) by Dawdlingpoet — 22 Nov 2021

This is a period drama, based on a fictional novel by Tracy Chevalier. Of course it is based on a genuine painting, although little is known about the circumstances behind it. I thought I might as well add briefly that I do quite like art, some artists moreso than others, I wouldn't say im especially cultured or what-not but I like to think I can appreciate a good piece of work and I was familiar with the painting before having seen the film. Themes include social standing, lust and jealousy.

The first thing I noticed was that I felt Scarlet Johansson seemed a very good choice of actor for the main role - she looked very expressive, constantly curious and a bit unsure of what to make of her new surroundings and the people she worked for. In the painting, I always felt that her eyes were somehow very emotional, very curious and this was definitely brought across well by Johansson. If I were to be critical, I'd question the likelihood of such a working class girl (at the time) looking quite as clean and almost porcelain faced as she does. There is a real sense of uncertainty and nervousness which is portrayed well by Johansson.I found myself feeling as if I was questioning likely the same things Griet was, wondering what would happen, with different family members making different requests of her. One of the real plus sides of this film is the stunning cinematography, by way of the various landscape shots. It almost has the feel of a moving, ainimated painting in parts. That aside, the plot pace is particularly slow and there is no real (or certainly no obvious) action present, nor is it particularly thrilling as such either. It is what I might refer to as a 'slow burner'. I imagine some people would feel pretty bored by it but I quite enjoyed it as I was interested in discovering the (if but fictional) depiction of how the famous painting may have come in to being.

Back to the cast and the other main character is, of course, Vermeer himself, who is played by Colin Firth. I couldn't help but wonder how accurate his portrayal may be, given that Vermeer was dutch and Firth is clearly very much English, with no attempted trace of a foreign accent. Other cast members include Tom Wilkinson as Vermeers patron, Van Ruijven, Judy Parfitt as Maria Thins, Cillian Murphy as Pieter and Joanna Scanlan as Tanneke. Scarlet Johanssons performance really made this film work, adding a surprisingly realistic feel to it, or so I felt anyway.

Content wise, this film contains some mild violence and one sex scene which isn't very graphic but is very much implied. There isn't any strong language or other content likely to offend, with this film carrying a 12 certificate to reflect this.

The soundtrack consists of classical pieces, mostly quite light, piano based pieces. It added to the atmosphere of certain scenes, making them seem perhaps more tense than they may have done otherwise. Although this film is pretty slow paced, it does become rather tense and somewhat dramatic in tone in the last quarter.

Overall I felt this was quite a slowly evocative film; tense and filled with mystery. I didn't feel very happy with Firths portrayal but otherwise I quite enjoyed watching it. I thought the ending was quite thought provoking.

If your a fan of period drama, or if your interested in seeing a fictional depiction of how the famous painting of the films name may have come to be, then I'd recommend it. I found it to be quite visually beautiful and with a decent performance by Scarlet Johansson as the main character, Griete. It seemed perhaps a bit unnecessarily slow paced and I can't say I was especially impressed by Colin Firths performance, finding him somehow unconvincing as Vermeer but overall I felt it was quite an emotive and evocative film, one which I enjoyed watching and would recommend on that basis.