3/14/2007

Girl With A Pearl Earring

Director: Peter Webber

An uncanny Scarlett Johansson stars as seventeen-year-old Greit who becomes the maid and unlikely muse of Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth with a newfound intensity) in director Peter Webber’s visually striking and meticulously crafted feature film debut. Based on Tracy Chevalier’s bestselling novel and nominated for three Academy Awards, including nods for cinematography, art direction and costume design, this fictitious tale set in 1665 Delft, Holland looks like a series of Vermeer paintings come to life. While the historic inspiration for the artist’s famous title paining has never been clearly identified, this lush film, filled with emotionally expressive performances by a cast given little in the way of dialogue is a must for art lovers or loves who enjoy a good period film. No doubt, once it’s finished, you’ll find yourself wanting to run a Google search on Vermeer to view more of his breathtaking works.