Genre: Drama, Teenage, Thieves, Melodrama, Biography, Marriage
Tagline: Beauty inspires obsession.
Plot: Delft, Holland, 1665. After her father, a tile painter, is blinded in a kiln explosion, seventeen-year-old Griet must work to support her family. She becomes a maid in the house of Johannes Vermeer and gradually attracts the master painter's attention. Though worlds apart in upbringing, education and social standing, Vermeer recognizes Griet's intuitive understanding of color and light and slowly draws her into the mysterious world of his paintings.Vermeer is a perfectionist, often taking months to finish a painting. His shrewd mother-in-law, Maria Thins, struggles to maintain the family's lavish lifestyle on the income from his painstakingly meager output. Seeing that Griet inspires Vermeer, she takes the dangerous decision to allow their clandestine relationship to develop. Plunged into a chaotic Catholic household run by Vermeer's volatile wife Catharina, surrounded by an ever-increasing brood of children, Griet is increasingly at risk of exposure or worse. Twelve-year-old Cornelia, a mischievous girl who sees more than she should, quickly grows jealous and suspicious of Griet and is determined to cause trouble. Alone and unprotected, Griet also contends with the attentions of Pieter, a local butcher boy, and Vermeer's patron, the wealthy and lascivious Master van
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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 Watching "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is like stepping inside a Vermeer painting. The light, color and composition are eerily perfect. It's as if director Peter Webber, cinematographer Eduardo Serra and production designer Ben van Os unearthed some of theDutch master's missing work, plus scenes of 17th-century Delft he would have painted if he had the time.  --Jami Bernard (New York Daily News)
With superb performances marking a contrived story about a 17th-century Dutch artist and his muse, this film is not just for art lovers, it's for anyone who appreciates gorgeous filmmaking. --Stacie Hougland (Hollywood.com)
Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of those films that does many things right, and that places it among the year's best period pieces. It's a cut above the usual BBC costume drama. --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
Vermeer's famous painting comes semi-alive in this stultifyingly tasteful adaptation of a ludicrous book. Go to the museum instead.--Charles Taylor (Salon)
'Girl With a Pearl Earring" is a quiet movie, shaken from time to time by ripples of emotional turbulence far beneath the surface.  --Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
At least Earring is a well-made film. Its cinematography, score, and the acting of supporting players are all top-notch. Earring will likely try to become The Hours of 2003 – making a play as an intense tale of love gone wrong amidst a period backdrop.  --Christopher Null (FilmCritic.com)
A moving portrait painted onscreen. Each frame is an artistic representation of Dutch realism wrapped around a simple story and brought to life by an amazing cast.  --Derek May (MovieWeb)
The look of the film and its heartbreakingly appealing performance by Scarlett Johansson make it worth seeing. 74/100--Brian Webster (Apollo Guide)
Beautifully photographed and featuring a superb performance by Scarlett Johansson, this is a rewarding drama that is shot through with a palpable erotic intensity. --Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
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| Cast |
Colin Firth
Shakespeare in Love, Bridget Jones's Diary, The English Patient |
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 | Tom Wilkinson
Batman Begins, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Shakespeare in Love |
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 | | Essie Davis
The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, The Ripper | Joanna Scanlan
Jane Eyre, A Little Trip to Heaven, A Rather English Marriage | |
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Slow but beautifully shot bio.  --Jonathn Foreman (New York Post)
Sexual tension meets timeless art 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' explores Vermeer's family dynamics--Ruthe Stein (San Francisco Chronicle)
A much better title would have been 'Much Ado About Painting'. 5/10--Gary Panton (Movie Gazette)
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