Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
Beauty inspires obsession.
Starring: Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson, Judy Parfitt, Cillian Murphy, Essie Davis, Joanna Scanlan, Alakina Mann, Chris McHallem, Gabrielle Reidy, Rollo Weeks, Anna Popplewell, Anais Nepper, Nathan Nepper
Director: Peter Webber
Running Time: 95 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 12A
Drama
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
It's Got: Judy Parfitt wearing a MASSIVE collar - presumably to stop her from licking her wounds?
It Needs: To explain why everyone adopts a uniform English accent. Aren't we supposed to be in the Netherlands?
Alternatives: I Capture The Castle, Nicholas Nickleby
Summary: A much better title would have been 'Much Ado About Painting'.
Review by Gary Panton
Image Gallery
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External Links
Official Web Site
Girl with a Pearl Earring at the IMDB
Comments1 Comment |
| GWAPE is a pot boiler with a pot or a plot. It misses on so many levels. From poor casting to poor dialogue. The only thing it seems to got right is the atmosphere of 17th C Holland but was it really that dismal ? High Point: Scarlett Johansson, the end Low Point: the almost rape scene by Tom Wilkinson. |
| Comment by:- | | 01 December 2004 | ip: logged |
