When a film is made, the director aims to capture a series of moments on camera, and to preserve them for later viewing. In Girl with a Pearl Earring, Webber has achieved a certain mastery of the art of communication that rivals the topical art of the film itself. How do you capture, not merely the standard movie moment, but a lifetime in the space of 99minutes alone? This is the exact impression that Girl… gives, the undeniable sensation that although what you see is those character’s realities. They cease to be the fictional creations of author Tracy Chevalier, and become living beings that walk, breathe, think, and doubt their own desires.
In fact, desire seems to be a key element in the film, which speaks of sensuality on every level, a sensuality that is all the more delicious for being wrong. The role of Johannes Vermeer himself is taken by Colin Firth, a man that has had his name stamped on most women’s desires since his appearance on Pride and Prejudice, and becomes a tangible representation of the extraordinary sensuality of the book. Vermeer becomes entirely sexual, not merely for his roguish good looks (tall dark and handsome, but entirely unlike the cliché) and impenetrably dark eyes, but for his obvious intelligence and the mysterious silence in which he lives. The film is already well underway before he makes his first appearances, first as a voice upstairs, and then as a silhouette in a darkened doorway, but Webber has created a film that is beyond its own dialogue, at times rendering words themselves unnecessary, conveying the message through close-ups of a hand, an eye, the light filtering through a window…
This sense of mystery becomes a corner-stone to the story Webber presents to us, yet at times he skims over too much, failing to introduce characters, for example, leaving us to guess whom they might be. This could, to an extent, reflect the protagonist, Griet's (Scarlett Johansson) emotions at this tempestuous stage of her life. This is emphasised by Alexandre Desplat’s wonderful score, which constantly represents the very aura of the movie and provides musical resonance to the traditional backdrop of seventeenth century Holland.
In the opening scenes we see Griet leave her home and family to serve as a maid in a Catholic household. Here, Webber has missed out the crucial introductory chapter from the book, where we discover that her father lost his trade after becoming blind and that Griet must be sent to work. We do not meet Vermeer and Catharine as Chevalier intended us to, and we do not see that Vermeer himself chose Griet as the maid that would clean his studio. It is, in fact, startling to see how much of the book has been cut from the production, and one would assume that on making this film Webber had aimed for an audience of the book’s fans, an audience that would be familiar with the thoughts that Griet expresses in its first person narration, and an audience that would take their hats off to him for the exquisite detailing of the film’s sets, lighting and camera shots.
Vermeer, a painter known for his stunning use of light and shade, earthy tones and domestic theme oozes into every shot and angle until it is difficult to differentiate between what is a painting and what is real. Moreover, there are times when one can look at an image, knowing it to be a part of the movie and not a close up of Vermeer’s work, and wonder at how it is possible that the two could be so unconditionally similar. The detailing that has gone into the sets – the Delft tiles in the art studio, the glass panes in the window… – is astounding in its authenticity, in a way that can only be appreciated by the recognition of the true paintings, which are subtly included by their placement in the home of Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson), Vermeer’s patron. The film is meticulous in its every aspect, standing as a story in itself, which accentuates the mastery of the novel. The casting, the most commercial factor of the film (particularly with Johansson’s recent fame as a result of her role in Lost in Translation) is practically ideal, Johansson presenting a haunting resemblance to the girl in the painting, Judy Parfitt, the perfect mother-in-law as Maria Thins, and Essie Davis and Alakina Mann as Catherine (Vermeer’s wife) and Cornelia (one of many daughters) to whom one takes immediate aversion.
What is fascinating about this tale, moreover, is that nothing ever seems to happen in it. One would think it impossible to base a film on nothing, or on something so essentially simple that without the typical sex or fight scenes that one comes to expect from modern cinema, the film would not become mundane or tedious. Yet somehow, Webber pulls it all off; the relationships between the characters become a topic of curiosity and expectation, the hierarchy of master and servant, the love between a father and a daughter, the chemistry between a man and a woman, the magic between a painter, his subject, and not only the final piece, but the very process of creation. Art thrives in its own flawlessness and perfection, setting its own standards, presenting its own ideas as it pleases, and all that an artist can do is keep up with the Muse that lays down the concepts. Webber constantly gives the impression of this hunt, offering Griet as a ‘Muse’ in her own right, even inspiring Vermeer to paint Girl with a Pitcher. Those who know the book would obviously notice the various changes that Webber has made, probably agreeing that some plot cuts were necessary to make this movie a success, and although I would recommend at least a loose knowledge of Tracy Chevalier’s novel to fill in some of the many details Webber appears to expect us to know, I’m curious as to how I would have perceived this film if I hadn’t already known its story.
Girl with a Pearl Earring is beautiful from beginning to end, offering so much more than a story that lasts its allotted hour and a half, presenting a snapshot of what is, what has become, and what could be in the lives of these select citizens of Delft, that lived so long ago in 1665. No one knows whom the girl in the painting is, perhaps she was a maid named Griet, who has captivated the minds of thousands, but more importantly, who captivated the mind of Jan Vermeer and “his world”. Girl with a Pearl Earring has been nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Actress Drama (Scarlett Johansson) and Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat).
FIRST RELEASED: 16 January 2004