Film Review 1

Girl with a Pearl Earring(2003)

Cast:

·         Scarlett Johansson as Griet

·         Tom Wilkinson as Pieter van Ruijven

·         Cillian Murphy as Pieter

·         Judy Parfitt as Maria Thins

·         Essie Davis as Catharina Bolnes

·         Anna Popplewell as Maertge

·         Alakina Mann as Cornelia

Director:

Synopsis: Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 2003 drama film directed by Peter Webber. The screenplay was adapted by screenwriter Olivia Hetreed based on the novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier. The film stars Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, and Cillian Murphy. The film is named after a painting of the same name by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. The film uses a bright color scheme as in Vermeer's paintings.

Review:

Seventeen year old Griet becomes the servant of painter Johannes Vermeer after her father, a respected artisan, is accidentally blinded. Although her primary duty is to clean the master's studio, which his wife is not allowed to enter, Griet is also responsible for most household tasks. She is powerless in this house and bitterly resented by his wife and eldest daughter. Griet's life becomes a ruthless sequence of work, domestic jealousies, and constant watchfulness against lechery and plague. Inhibited by fear and social custom, she tries to keep her actions secret when Vermeer asks her to prepare the substances he will use for paint. Such work is inappropriate for a maidservant, and she knows her place. Eventually Vermeer wishes to paint Griet. As Vermeer secretly works on the eponymous painting, Catharina's growing jealousy of Griet becomes obvious. At the end of the film, Griet receives a gift- that very earrings she wear while Vermeer was painting her.

As for the actor’s performances, Scarlett Johansson earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for Girl with a Pearl Earring. Her work in this movie was perfect. Her natural look and cute appearance help her to reflect the innocence  and simple beauty of Griet.

As for me I liked this movie because of the atmosphere and mood it leaves. Century city, the artistic and scientific circles, the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, the class structure, the guilds, the social and domestic hierarchies. This film make me courageous. She finds characteristics inside of her that she doesn’t even know she has. by personal example of Griet who finds out who she really is and what she wants for her life, who will not let people treat her, I understand that our life is full of obstacles, but I should not leave confidence in myself. It’s better to struggle to the end.