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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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"Girl with a Pearl Earring"
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
Anamorphic
Widescreen |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
5.1 |
| Languages |
English |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
100 minutes
|
| Rating |
PG-13 |
| Release Date |
5/4/04 |
| Studio |
Lion's Gate
Home Video |
| Commentary:
|
Director
Peter Webber |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
"Anatomy of a Scene"
|
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Colin Firth,
Scarlett Johannsson, Tom Wilkinson, Judy Parfitt, Cillian Murphy,
Essie Davis |
| Written
By: |
Olivia Hetreed |
| Produced
By: |
Andy Patterson
|
| Directed
By: |
Peter Webber
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| Music:
|
Alexandre
Desplat |
| The
Review: |
Set in the 17th Century and inspired
by one Vermeer's masterful paintings, "Girl with a Pearl Earring"
creates a fictional story around what might have inspired
the great painter to create one of his masterpieces. Vermeer
(Firth) struggles with limited resources and a lack of inspiration.
His mother-in-law (Parfitt) keeps a tight hold on the family
resources making it difficult for Vermeer to create. While
she recognizes his genius, she also wants him to produce painting
by route because of the income his work earns. ***
Vermeer notices that their new
uneducated housekeeper Griet (Johannsson) has a natural affinity
for art. He demands that she be allowed to help him mix his
paints and prepping his studio. Jealousy arises when a wealthy
patron (Wilkinson) commissions Vermeer to paint Griet's portrait.
Vermeer borrows of his wife's earrings sparking jealousy and
further antagonizing his already emotionally sensitive wife.
***
A nicely directed and acted film,
"Girl with a Pearl Earring" speculates behind the creation
of one of Vermeer's most famous paintings. Far from static,
this rich period piece captures your attention immediately.
There's no explosions, no murders and no action to speak of
but the developing relationship between Vermeer and Griet.
The lovely photography and well written script make "Girl
with a Pearl Earring" a quiet but compelling drama. Director
Webber's careful staging allows an intimate relationship to
develop between Vermeer and Griet with minimal contact. In
many respects, this is a romance about soul mates kept apart
by their financial and social differences. ---
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| Image
and Sound: |
The transfer
has some very nice qualities. Given that the film aspires to
capture Vermeer's style and the compositions have the qualities
of a painting, there's been a lot of attention paid to balancing
shadows, light and textures. Although the picture is a bit soft
at times, the rich colors and beautifully lit compositions look
alive on this DVD. The sound provides a nicely balanced counterpart
to the visuals. There's none of the hyperactive detail one sees
in an action movie but quiet, nicely detailed moments scattered
about the 5.1 mix. --- |
| The
Extras: |
We only get
"Anatomy of a Scene" as an extra here which is curious given
the deluxe treatment the movie received in its UK release. The
UK version of "Girl" features deleted scenes, a making of featurette
and the theatrical trailer. |
| Commentary:
|
Director
Webber details the difficulty in capturing Vermeer's look in
a cinematic style without creating a static look for the film.
He also details some of the struggles in translating the original
novel to the screen and the decision to jettison large chucks
of the narrative. Unfortunately, we don't get the writer's commentary
that appears on the UK version of this DVD so we'll never know
the great lengths that screenwriter Olivia Hetreed went to in
trying to fashion a story that stayed true to the novel's main
characters but that also had to sacrifice important exposition
for the sake of length. --- |
| Final
Words: |
A beautifully
shot involving study about the relationship between artist and
subject, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is sadly wanting when it
comes to extras. Since those extras were already available in
the UK version of the film, I'm surprised that Lion's Gate didn't
license them. The audience of for the film may be small but
fans would have lined up to pay a bit more for these extras.
Without the benefit of writer's commentary track we don't really
know what might have been sacrificed early on in the writing
process. I have to wonder how much additional footage was shot
but cut due to time constraints. Clearly this is an example
of a film that would have benefited from a "Director's Cut"
but given the lack of success in the United States, it's unlikely
we're going to see it. |
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