Girl With A Pearl Earring Essay
Sumptuous set design, painstaking cinematography and thoughtful, understated performances make ‘Girl With A Pearl Earring’ an aesthetic masterpiece – but dear God is it dull.
It’s based on the best-selling novel by Tracy Chevalier but, more significantly than that, the book itself tells the story behind a painting by brush-brandishing Dutchman Johannes Vermeer. And not a very interesting story either, it has to be said.
Rent-a-thesp Colin Firth plays Vermeer, who takes a break from the clogs, windmills and whore-patrolled waterways of 17th Century Holland to paint humble housemaid Griet (a perfectly-cast Scarlett Johansson, of Lost In Translation fame). You wouldn’t think there’d be many problems with that – only Vermeer’s missus Catharina …show more content…
The over-elaborate scale and ritualistic (sometimes anachronistic) motivations that tend to swamp this genre, and the characters contained therein, is reduced to reveal an effective and moving tale. In preferring to concentrate on a small number of emblematic themes, carried through strong performances, the film succeeds in resonating it’s meaning throughout the ages. A contemporary score and Eduardo Serra’s sublime photography further enhance the film’s vitality.
Girl With A Pearl Earring may not hold everyone’s attention. The stifled passion that runs throughout the narrative may prove a little frustrating at times and Colin Firth overplaying the tortured genius undermines some fantastic performances, but if you’re looking for something that runs deeper than your average costume drama in both it’s scope and it’s execution then stop and stare at this for a while, you may be surprised at what reveals itself.
Girl with a Pearl Earring - Review
The Movie Based On a Book Based On a Painting
About.com Rating2.5 Star Rating
Be the first to write a review
From Jürgen
It’s based on the best-selling novel by Tracy Chevalier but, more significantly than that, the book itself tells the story behind a painting by brush-brandishing Dutchman Johannes Vermeer. And not a very interesting story either, it has to be said.
Rent-a-thesp Colin Firth plays Vermeer, who takes a break from the clogs, windmills and whore-patrolled waterways of 17th Century Holland to paint humble housemaid Griet (a perfectly-cast Scarlett Johansson, of Lost In Translation fame). You wouldn’t think there’d be many problems with that – only Vermeer’s missus Catharina …show more content…
The over-elaborate scale and ritualistic (sometimes anachronistic) motivations that tend to swamp this genre, and the characters contained therein, is reduced to reveal an effective and moving tale. In preferring to concentrate on a small number of emblematic themes, carried through strong performances, the film succeeds in resonating it’s meaning throughout the ages. A contemporary score and Eduardo Serra’s sublime photography further enhance the film’s vitality.
Girl With A Pearl Earring may not hold everyone’s attention. The stifled passion that runs throughout the narrative may prove a little frustrating at times and Colin Firth overplaying the tortured genius undermines some fantastic performances, but if you’re looking for something that runs deeper than your average costume drama in both it’s scope and it’s execution then stop and stare at this for a while, you may be surprised at what reveals itself.
Girl with a Pearl Earring - Review
The Movie Based On a Book Based On a Painting
About.com Rating2.5 Star Rating
Be the first to write a review
From Jürgen