The Miniaturist 

A young woman moves to 17th century Amsterdam and hires a mysterious local miniaturist to furnish the dollhouse she received from her merchant husband as present, but the lifelike miniatures somehow start eerily foreshadowing her fate.

Stars:

Anya Taylor-Joy, Romola Garai, Hayley Squires

1 win.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Anya Taylor-Joy	...	Petronella Brandt 2 episodes, 2017
Romola Garai	...	Marin Brandt 2 episodes, 2017
Hayley Squires	...	Cornelia 2 episodes, 2017
Alex Hassell	...	Johannes Brandt 2 episodes, 2017
Caolan Byrne	...	Arnoud 2 episodes, 2017
Sally Messham	...	Hanna 2 episodes, 2017
Geoffrey Streatfeild	...	Frans Meermans 2 episodes, 2017
Graham Elwell	...	Chief Militia Guard 2 episodes, 2017
Paapa Essiedu	...	Otto 2 episodes, 2017
Ziggy Heath	...	Jack Philips 2 episodes, 2017
Ian Hogg	...	Pieter Slabbaert 2 episodes, 2017
Aislín McGuckin	...	Agnes Meermans 2 episodes, 2017
Emily Berrington	...	The Miniaturist 2 episodes, 2017
Christopher Godwin	...	Pastor Pellicorne 2 episodes, 2017

Storyline

A young woman moves to 17th century Amsterdam and hires a mysterious local miniaturist to furnish the dollhouse she received from her merchant husband as present, but the lifelike miniatures somehow start eerily foreshadowing her fate.

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Plot Keywords:

minituarist | miniature | tv mini series | 17th century | amsterdam netherlands | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 2017 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Miniaturist

Filming Locations:

Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation,Masterpiece Theatre,PBS

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 156 min (total run time)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several scenes that took place in Amsterdam, like the Canals and the church, were actually shot in the Dutch city of Leiden. Amsterdam was considered to be too modern, whereas in Leiden the buildings were mostly preserved in original state.

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Alternate Versions

BBC (UK) release was presented in two episodes: the first being approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, the second 1 hour. PBS (USA) release was presented in three episodes; each 50+ minutes.

User Reviews

Pour some sugar on me

An adaptation of Jessie Burton's novel. The Miniaturist tells the story of Petronella Oortman (Anya Taylor-Joy) an 18 year old woman married off to a wealthy sugar merchant, Johannes Brandt (Alex Hassell.)

She has moved from the provinces to the thriving city of Amsterdam and living in her husband's household run by her initially severe sister in law Marin (Romola Garai) which has two servants.

The house seems to contain secrets, her husband is rather reluctant to be with her but he does give her a dollhouse as a wedding gift. Petronella furnishes the doll house with miniature replicas that arrive as gifts. The miniaturist making the dolls may have a second sight as her real life replicas seems to betray what is being remain hidden in the household or maybe she has just observed what was there all along in plain sight.

Petronella tries to adapt to her new life, but she is doing so without her husband's love yet he is pleasant to her.

The series was gloomily lit to reflect Nella' mood. The photography and art direction are inspired by a Vermeer or Rembrandt painting. The series was unsure whether it was a supernatural drama with shades of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca or a story of a young woman being defiant as the household's dark secrets unfold but it did feel unsatisfying.