Girl With a Pearl Earring

Starring:Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson, Judy Parfitt, Cillian Murphy, Essie Davis, Joanna Scanlan, Alakina Mann, Chris McHallem, Gabrielle Reidy, Rollo Weeks, Anna Popplewell, AnaÃ¯s Nepper, Melanie Meyfroid, Nathan Nepper, Lola Carpenter, Charlotte Carpenter (III), Olivia Chauveau, Geoff Bell, Virginie Colin
Director: Peter Webber
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

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You wouldn't think a movie could look like a Vermeer painting, but Girl with a Pearl Earring is filmed with an amazing range of luminous glows that evoke the Dutch artist's masterworks. Of course, it helps that much of the movie centers on Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Ghost World), whose creamy skin and full lips have a luminosity of their own. Johansson plays Griet, a maid in the household of Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth, Bridget Jones' Diary, Fever Pitch), who finds herself in a web of jealousy, artistic inspiration, and social machinations. Though the pace is slow, Girl with a Pearl Earring genuinely conveys some sense of an artist's process, as well as offering many chaste yet sensual moments between Firth and Johansson. Also featuring Essie Davis as Vermeer's bitter wife and Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom) as a wealthy patron with eyes for Griet. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

Enough, Scarlett, enough!.......2007-05-21

Am I the only person on the planet who's sick of this actress doing this silent-brooding-staring-into-space-or-at-the-floor-routine? Good lord, honey, lighten up. Let me know there's life in there. Is this all she knows how to do? I know this role doesn't call for "perky," but couldn't she give some indication that she has a pulse?

Light emerging from darkness........2007-05-21

In this movie a young woman, Griet, is forced to leave home and find employment as a maid. She finds herself in the home of the painter Vermeer and his family. The setting is 17th century Holland, and the historically authentic sets and brilliant photography relentlessly drive home to the viewer the physical harshness of life in that time. Even people of means must contend with cold and damp, filth, cramped living spaces, and a myriad other sources of physical discomfort.

But the film also explores the emotional suffering of the time through its portrayal of Vermeer's family. We see very little kindness in this family, and plenty of resentment, grief, rage, sadness, and downright meanness. Griet comes from a family which is very poor but which seems to have real affection for her. Settling in with her employers, she must learn to navigate the shoals of the bitterness which surround her. Indeed, the Vermeer family seems to be representative of an age when the currency of power dominated human relationships in a much more obvious and raw fashion than we see today. The world outside Griet's family is one of darkness; grasping, cruelty, and ignorance are accepted modes of behavior.

But Griet does not become overwhelmed by this darkness. Instead, she discovers the paintings of Vermeer. Soon, her mind begins to open up to greater possibilities, and a new sort of consciousness seems to take hold in her. As the movie progresses, she becomes caught up in the growth of her interior vision so much so that the destructive energies of the household cannot distract her from this growth. In this way, she is an embodiment of the paintings themselves, which are very much about light appearing in the midst of darkness, and the power of illumination emerging from physical limitation. The photography mirrors this theme, with shots that are lit in the same manner as Vermeer's paintings. Thus the development of Griet's character, the photography, Vermeer's art, and the dynamics of the family conflict all weave together to create one overriding image: light emerging from darkness.

This movie moves slowly. We watch a young woman's enlightenment taking place against a backdrop of rising tension and hatred which are intensified by her presence. But it is the quality of her spirit more than her physical beauty which causes much of the tension within the family. Johansson convincingly portrays a woman who embodies a luminous, interior beauty-- and it is this that thoroughly captivates the artist Vermeer. A beautiful and awe inspiring film.

A Feast for the Eyes and Ears..........2007-05-19

Visually, Girl with a Pearl Earring is absolutely stunning. Viewing the film on DVD, one could actually watch the entire piece with the sound turned completely off and enjoy it just as much...as has been said many times before; the film is like viewing a Vermeer painting in motion.

Based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier of the same name, the story is a speculative exploration into the identity of the model of the famous Vermeer painting. A young woman from a poor family is forced to seek employment and finds work as a maid in the Vermeer household. A tacit love affair develops between Griet (Scarlett Johansson) and Vermeer (Colin Firth) though in a purely emotional and mental sense, as her appreciation of art, due to Griet's father being a painter, intrigues the master, and he begins to teach her about colour and the delicate skill of mixing paint to achieve just the right shade and depth. I loved the scene where Vermeer asks Griet to tell him the colour of the clouds in the sky. She responds with the answer, "white", to then observe more intently, to answer, "Yellow, blue and grey..." Vermeer is pleased with this answer.

It is no wonder that the film won many awards and was Oscar nominated for art direction, set design and costume design because the historical accuracy and beauty in all three categories is simply astounding.

In fact, viewing the DVD with a good friend, she would comment after a particular scene that she was sure she had seen "that" painting before. Going back over the film, one can almost detect past master works of that time. It would be interesting to investigate this further and possibly connect certain scenes with actual paintings of the period.

The soundtrack composed by Alexandre Desplat, also nominated for many awards including the Oscar for The Queen (2006) and the Golden Globe for The Painted Veil and Girl with a Pearl Earring, is both beautiful and haunting.

In itself, Girl with a Pearl Earring is a true work of art. The time spent and attention to detail certainly showed in the final product.

Director Peter Webber (Hannibal Rising 2007) managed a very young Scarlett Johansson to perform with mature restraint, concentrating on her expression, particularly those wonderful eyes.

An absolute 5 star rating...

5 stars for we may never see artistc photography such as this again.......2007-05-12

So many good reviews, what can I add? Just my own experience

I have never seen a movie whose all intension is to find, capture and portrait the scenes the Dutch masters were made famous for.. Just this makes you play with the movie, similar to kids playing "I see".. The production in this sense is flawless,, and the setting of the epoch is so real.. You can feel the tensions everywhere,, and there is this girl, no instructions whatsoever, but she has the gift and the genius to see what the master is doing and to even correct him!! This is what captivates him.. at the end of the movie, I cannot escape the feeling of contemplation of the Art Collector - as he has the painting in front of him, for his joy only- as he admires the painting.. We are to pass, yet we were given a chance to admire.. what else can you do?

Superlative set of performances, the entire composition as well.......2007-05-05

This film builds slowly, think Maurice Ravel's "Boléro" perhaps, or something else which simultaneously instills impatience and anticipation; unlike Vermeer's work this film will not immediately stun. Yet each performance among the tight, well chosen cast, certainly so the three female leads, is beautifully done, and any impatience is allayed. Johansson is brilliant; critically, she was fully up to the final scenes, the crescendo that is perfectly measured and timed in each particular. This is a deserving piece of film.

Girl With A Pearl Earring (La Joven Con El Arete De Perla) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

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Girl With A Pearl Earring (La Joven Con El Arete De Perla) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]
Director: Peter Webber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Charlie Rose with Silvan Shalom; Scarlett Johansson (December 12, 2003)

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Charlie Rose with Silvan Shalom; Scarlett Johansson (December 12, 2003)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

The foreign minister of Israel, Silvan Shalom, discusses his visit to the Middle East and recent meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell. He talks about new Israeli policies, including the construction of a fence, that have been devised to protect the Israeli people from Palestinian terrorism. During the last three years, the Israelis have been victim to 19,00 terrorist attacks. Then, an interview with actress Scarlett Johansson about her films Girl with a Pearl Earring and Lost in Translation.

Average customer rating:

Enough, Scarlett, enough!
Light emerging from darkness.
A Feast for the Eyes and Ears...
5 stars for we may never see artistc photography such as this again
Superlative set of performances, the entire composition as well

Girl with a Pearl Earring [Region 2]
Starring: Colin Firth , Scarlett Johansson , Tom Wilkinson , Judy Parfitt , and Cillian Murphy
Director: Peter Webber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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