There are times when you simply have to give someone credit for ingenuity and creativity. All of us have had a chance at some point in our lives to look at paintings in the world of art. While we can marvel at imagery or turn our noses up in disgust, but the one thing that we don't know about classic works of art that are centuries old would be what the painter himself was thinking. We haven't the slightest idea where the inspiration came from, we weren't present to see the creative genius at work, and although there are often accounts of a paintings background, they at times are merely contrived tales that have many variations. Such is the case of the 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, a man who left the world with 35 paintings, but little as far as the stories or inspiration behind them, and one of the most famous of these is Girl With a Peal Earring, and thus the basis for the novel by Tracy Chevalier that the film itself is derived from.

Girl With a Pearl Earring is of course a period piece set in Deflt, Holland in 1665. We first are introduced to Griet (Scarlett Johansson), a seventeen-year-old girl who has recently been brought in to the Vermeer household to work as a maid in order to support her family. Eventually, she gains the attention of Johannes (Colin Firth), a painter who has only recently finished a commissioned work for an acquaintance, Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson) and seeing young Griet cleaning one day gives him an inspiration for his next painting.

This eventually leads to Griet helping her master in his studio on occasion, and it does seem that she may have the aptitude and the eye to become a painter, but it seems that is something that is not meant to be. Griet has however captured the eye of Van Ruijven, and he has decided that Johannes must paint a portrait of her. The problem lies in the fact the Johannes' wife has taken a disliking to the young maid, and so the two must hide the project from her eyes as well as her knowledge.

The concept of Girl With A Pearl Earring is an interesting one, and it's not often that someone decides to approach something in this fashion, but again, it is a contrived tale and no one really knows where the influence really came from. There has long been speculation that it was Vermeer's daughter, others have said it was a neighbor, but no one really knows. With a painting however, basing a film or story around its creation is much easier I'm sure than trying to create a reasonable retelling of why Poe or even Shakespeare wrote their works or the full breadth of the influence. As a result however, you won't see any additional text such as "Based on a True Story," attached to the film at all as it is a work of fiction.

Visually, the film is very captivating, especially considering the fact that it is a period piece. While there are films of the same type that try and accomplish this same feeling, often times they end up being a bit too over the top with far too much effort placed upon trying to really capture the feeling and look. Girl With a Pearl Earring however goes for a more subtle approach, and though there are furnishings and costumes used that would give the feeling on the mid 1600's, they are never over powering and enhance the feeling of the film. Instead, the films director, Peter Webber, tends try and tell the story from a more visual angel, often times letting the actors silent looks tell the story at times. And, instead of being some boisterous approach, this film is sullen, oftentimes almost too quite. In fact, I had to eventually bring up the subtitles to fully grasp what was going on as there are often moments of nearly silent dialog that are spoken.

The cast all does a very good job and there is a very good chemistry between all of them. I wouldn't necessarily say that there is one that excels above the rest, and instead what you have is a nearly perfect harmony between those that are still are fledglings when it comes to films, such as the case with Johansson (who really does a wonderful job in the film but really does), and those that have been in numerous features and television works. It isn't too often that you really do find a film that has a well-balanced cast, but this film has it almost to perfection, and the acting is very believable and engrossing.

However, my problem with the film is that it simply is far too slow. I don't mind dramas, and although Girl With a Pearl Earring is done very well, the pacing is almost sleep inducing at times. I suppose that this is to be expected considering the subject matter, and watching someone paint and try and find inspiration doesn't quite have the impact that other plots do. Often, it becomes a bit too predictable as well, such as Johannes trying to find a new subject for his next painting. As we see Griet trying to clean the windows, the result is far too obvious as to what he will paint next. The ending of the film is incredibly anticlimactic, though there wasn't too much of a build as far as anything that would be earth shattering as it was, but by the time the credits started to roll, I didn't feel as if I was supposed to sit down and contemplate what I had seen, nor was I in any emotional state where I felt the need to cry. Instead, I simply left thinking, "Oh, that's it?"

There isn't too much included on the disc for extras. There is a music video and Anatomy of a Scene, something that has been included on many of the Lion's Gate releases. However, given the content, I can't really see much more that could be included either. Interviews actually seem a bit pointless; as would a behind the scenes look at the production of the film.

For those that enjoy films that are period pieces, this will be an outstanding one to pick up, but for those of us that aren't quite as taken with them (such as myself) this is a film that can easily be missed without much worry. It's not an inspirational piece, nor is it something that is groundbreaking. It's not bad mind you, but there are many other things that have had a greater impact on me in my film going career, and Girl With a Pearl Earring isn't one of them.

-mike-
 

Directed By: Peter Webber   Written by: Olivia Hetreed   Based Upon the Book by: Tracy Chevalier   Cast: Colin Firth Scarlett Johansson Tom Wilkinson Judy Parfitt Cillian Murphy Essie Davis Joanna Scanlan

DVD Features: Closed Captioning Music Video Anatomy of a Scene