Girl with a Pearl Earring

Although this film captures the colors of Vermeer, it misses the mark in almost every other way. I suppose if you're a fan of the book, you'll enjoy the film, but if you're a fan of the painter himself, this story has naught to do with his life. Johansson and Firth are adequate enough, but the tale they're acting out is dull...it feels like a vaguely pretentious romance novel set in the baroque period in an attempt to differentiate from Danielle Steele.

The Bottom Line: An impressive adaptation of Chevalier's novel that (for my money) does many things better than the book, Girl With a Pearl Earring resists any urges to amplify the book's quiet drama and instead turns in a subtly effective little story.

I give this movie 3 stars due to the transcendent beauty of the filming. I give it only 3 due to the second half of the movie. I give the first half 5 stars plus! The problem? It is similar to such movies as "Immortal Beloved", the one about Beethoven that has gotten so many rave reviews. They are both lost opportunities of creating movies about artists, composers which reflect truth. How much more exciting, interesting and moving would it have been if it had followed what we know of the life of the artist and the creation of the painting...which is not much, but less is more. In this one, we know little about the life of Vermeer, so what do directors, screenwriters, producers do...they make up salacious sensational soap-opera events to attract the 21st century movie going audience. What they have done is blasphemous to the integrity and art of Vermeer. Why couldn't we have had a movie about ONLY the creation of this incredible painting..."The Girl with the Pearl Earring"? J... Read more

This movie was beautifully done.The scenery was truly lovely.The ending was so abrupt though.It just ends!! Nothing like the ending in the book. so for me that knocks it down a few notches.Scarlet Johanson did a wonderful job however, her face looked like she was always in pain!

The movie was great. There were no scratches on the DVD and the case was in good condition as well. I would definitely buy from this seller again in the future.

I was pleasantly surprised that this period piece fictionalized the "story behind a painting" without the typical need for overt sexual involvement. What I mean by that, is that this book-to-film was more about the understanding between house-maid and artist, not a sexual realtionship...... which was a welcome difference in fictional period films about muses and their masters. It is a quietly developing film, neither tedious nor upbeat. The story of Vermeer stays financially and pictorially correct to history - down to the names, scenery, and the likeness of the characters depcited in his true paintings (which was refreshing). The drama of his financial need to stay afloat, while being supported by his mother inlaw, is historically accurate - as well as his patronige with one affluent buyer, keeping the truth of Vermeer's Dutch local fame true to life as well. The fictional involvement of Johansson's house-maid character is the meat of the film - but as I said before - I found a... Read more