A cinematic masterpiece. For art direction and cinematography, GWAPE easily ranks among the top ten films of the thousands I have seen. It is comparable to the Godfather epic and Lawrence of Arabia in that regard. Dozens of scenes are worthy of framing and mounting in galleries--they are that exquisite.
Regarding performances, I can now see why there is such a buzz about Scarlett. That so young an actress can carry a film in which there is so little dialogue and in which, as the lead, she appears in nearly every shot gives you some idea of her level of acting skill. Could she be our next Meryl Streep? All in all, the casting is pretty much spot on, but Judy Parfitt as the Matron does especially fine work.
Girl With a Pearl Earring deserves to be widely seen and to be much awarded, but it may struggle in both areas. It may be too "quiet" to appeal to broad tastes. In this I would liken it to "sex, lies and videotape", which has a similar aesthetic tension. It also has the misfortune of debuting in 2003, the year in which the academy will award Peter Jackson for his (highly deserved!) work on the LOTR trilogy.
If you even remotely enjoy any of the fine arts I can highly recommend that you see this film. But I also strongly recommend that you Tracy Chevalier's book first. My spouse's viewing experience was somewhat lessened because she was expecting a more direct, less subtle storyline. The hallmark of Chevalier's work is her brooding atmosphere, in which each visual and aural element contributes meticulously and subtly to the overall effect. The author (and the film director) both master this technique, ultimately emulating the method and mood of Vermeer's paintings with outstanding success. I applaud their achievements.
Regarding performances, I can now see why there is such a buzz about Scarlett. That so young an actress can carry a film in which there is so little dialogue and in which, as the lead, she appears in nearly every shot gives you some idea of her level of acting skill. Could she be our next Meryl Streep? All in all, the casting is pretty much spot on, but Judy Parfitt as the Matron does especially fine work.
Girl With a Pearl Earring deserves to be widely seen and to be much awarded, but it may struggle in both areas. It may be too "quiet" to appeal to broad tastes. In this I would liken it to "sex, lies and videotape", which has a similar aesthetic tension. It also has the misfortune of debuting in 2003, the year in which the academy will award Peter Jackson for his (highly deserved!) work on the LOTR trilogy.
If you even remotely enjoy any of the fine arts I can highly recommend that you see this film. But I also strongly recommend that you Tracy Chevalier's book first. My spouse's viewing experience was somewhat lessened because she was expecting a more direct, less subtle storyline. The hallmark of Chevalier's work is her brooding atmosphere, in which each visual and aural element contributes meticulously and subtly to the overall effect. The author (and the film director) both master this technique, ultimately emulating the method and mood of Vermeer's paintings with outstanding success. I applaud their achievements.