The story behind one of the greatest paintings ever created traces the relationship between Dutch master Johannes Vermeer and his lowly maid, Griet.
Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the story behind the painting of the Girl with a Pearl Earring. Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) plays the girl, Griet, who arrives as an innocent maid in the household of Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). Vermeer takes a shine to the young girl, much to the annoyance of his wife, mother-in-law and one of his numerous children, all of whom live in the same house, which is also Vermeer's studio.
The pace is slow. The colours and mode of the film reflect the painting and at the end of the film it felt rather like I'd lived in one of his paintings for a couple of hours. It conveys some of what must go into a masterpieces, a piece of the master. Tom Wilkinson shines as Vermeer's wealthy patron who wants to own Griet himself and so commission's the painting.
It will appeal most to those who hang around art gallery's, but even for those of us less cultured, it held my interest for a couple of hours and is certainly worth a watch.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Young peasant girl Griet (Johansson) is forced into service as a maid in the home of the painter Johannes Vermeer (Firth), eventually being selected as the model for what is to become one of the Master's most famous works.
Peter Webber's screen adaptation of Tracy Chevalier's novel looks at the process behind creating one of the most famous portraits and told from the sitter's viewpoint - namely Jan Vermeer's The Girl With a Pearl Earring. Griet (Scarlett Johansson) is a young woman who sets off from her family home in the countryside to work as a servant for the Vermeer household in the burgh of Delft. To begin with, she is very lowly in the servant ranks, but is then given responsibility for cleaning the master of the house's painting quarters. Master of the house, the unsociable Vermeer (Colin Firth) is taken with Griet's looks and over some time paints her portrait. This upsets his pregnant and jealous wife, Catharina (Essie Davis) and his benefactor, van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson), who likes to decide what Vermeer should be painting. All the while, Griet is forming her own special relationship with a peasant boy (Cillian Murphy) of her own age.
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