We first meet Griet, spectacularly played by Scarlett Johansson, cutting and chopping vegetables and placing them in a beautiful display on a large plate. Her patience and care for making sure that all of the vegetables are balanced correctly in shape, form and color is only a glimpse of what becomes clearly evident later on in the film: this girl has the Eye.
She is ushered by her mom to begin her job as maid at the Vermeer's household while at the same time prompting Griet to shut her ears whenever someone is praying in presence. She says her goodbyes to her father, who loves her very much and is pained to see her go. It seems that her parents never expected her to assume the position of maid, but financial circumstances have forced Griet to make her way to her new master, Johannes Vermeer, superbly played by Colin Firth.
Griet settles in fairly well in her duties as maid and was given the chore to clean Vermeer's studio, a room that Vermeer's wife seems to avoid at all costs, almost fearful of what happens within its four walls. So right from the beginning we realize that Vermeer's wife is ignorant to her husband's talent, work and passion. This is a common theme throughout the movie and eventually culminates in an amazing confrontation toward the end of the movie.
It doesn't take long for us to realize that Vermeer and Griet have forged a bond: she fetches his colors, she grinds and mixes the paints, she cleans the windows in the studio so that better light comes in, she even moves a chair so that it doesn't appear on the painting Vermeer is working on. When he asks her why she moved the chair, she answers simply, "She looked trapped." referring to the female subject in the painting inspired by Griet herself. And it made perfect sense for her to do that. But it was also bold and only one who feels comfortable in that setting would have dared to do that, even for a person in her station, a maid.
Vermeer is commissioned to do a painting of Griet by a lustful Van Ruijven, played by Tom Wilkinson, who believes that Vermeer and Griet have fooled around and wants to join in and have a taste for himself. Thankfully he doesn't get his way but he does get the painting which is remarkable in its own right. But not without any hardships. Griet, understandably so, didn't want to participate in the sitting simply because she would it would anger his wife. Eventually persuaded by both Vermeer and his insipid mother-in-law to have it finished, she agrees to pose and get her ears pierced so that she could wear the beautiful pearl earring, a piece of jewelry belonging to Vermeer's wife. This leads to a confrontation when she finds out that Griet has worn her pearl earrings and demands to see the painting for herself. Vermeer doesn't want her to see it, claiming that she wouldn't understand, and inevitably so, once she sees it, she deems it grotesque, clearly showing us that she is ignorant and completely out of her element. This frustrates her and sends Griet packing, severing the connection between Vermeer and Griet when he does nothing to stop the dismissal.
Every shot in this film looks like it could be a painting itself. It's an absolutely beautifully shot movie. The movie is also incredibly quite and could be considered slow at times. There is not a lot of action in this movie, unless you consider Griet's little rendezvous with the butcher's son, played by Cillian Murphy. But then again, this is not an action movie. It is simply a story of girl who came into the life of a very talented painter and inspired him at the time he needed it most in his life.
Even Johansson's performance is quiet. She hardly ever speaks, yet her eyes and her face speak volumes. It is by far one of her best performances, only rivaled by her rendition of Charlotte in "Lost in Translation" where, incredibly enough, she plays the role of a woman who connects with an older man on a very human level and yet no physical consummation is ever present. Very much so like Griet and Vermeer connect in the confines of his studio and yet are worlds apart outside of it.
I enjoyed the movie very much but it is clearly not for everyone. It can seem slow at times, too quiet in others, but it's worth seeing if just for Johansson's performance, one which I am sure she will get recognized for.
She is ushered by her mom to begin her job as maid at the Vermeer's household while at the same time prompting Griet to shut her ears whenever someone is praying in presence. She says her goodbyes to her father, who loves her very much and is pained to see her go. It seems that her parents never expected her to assume the position of maid, but financial circumstances have forced Griet to make her way to her new master, Johannes Vermeer, superbly played by Colin Firth.
Griet settles in fairly well in her duties as maid and was given the chore to clean Vermeer's studio, a room that Vermeer's wife seems to avoid at all costs, almost fearful of what happens within its four walls. So right from the beginning we realize that Vermeer's wife is ignorant to her husband's talent, work and passion. This is a common theme throughout the movie and eventually culminates in an amazing confrontation toward the end of the movie.
It doesn't take long for us to realize that Vermeer and Griet have forged a bond: she fetches his colors, she grinds and mixes the paints, she cleans the windows in the studio so that better light comes in, she even moves a chair so that it doesn't appear on the painting Vermeer is working on. When he asks her why she moved the chair, she answers simply, "She looked trapped." referring to the female subject in the painting inspired by Griet herself. And it made perfect sense for her to do that. But it was also bold and only one who feels comfortable in that setting would have dared to do that, even for a person in her station, a maid.
Vermeer is commissioned to do a painting of Griet by a lustful Van Ruijven, played by Tom Wilkinson, who believes that Vermeer and Griet have fooled around and wants to join in and have a taste for himself. Thankfully he doesn't get his way but he does get the painting which is remarkable in its own right. But not without any hardships. Griet, understandably so, didn't want to participate in the sitting simply because she would it would anger his wife. Eventually persuaded by both Vermeer and his insipid mother-in-law to have it finished, she agrees to pose and get her ears pierced so that she could wear the beautiful pearl earring, a piece of jewelry belonging to Vermeer's wife. This leads to a confrontation when she finds out that Griet has worn her pearl earrings and demands to see the painting for herself. Vermeer doesn't want her to see it, claiming that she wouldn't understand, and inevitably so, once she sees it, she deems it grotesque, clearly showing us that she is ignorant and completely out of her element. This frustrates her and sends Griet packing, severing the connection between Vermeer and Griet when he does nothing to stop the dismissal.
Every shot in this film looks like it could be a painting itself. It's an absolutely beautifully shot movie. The movie is also incredibly quite and could be considered slow at times. There is not a lot of action in this movie, unless you consider Griet's little rendezvous with the butcher's son, played by Cillian Murphy. But then again, this is not an action movie. It is simply a story of girl who came into the life of a very talented painter and inspired him at the time he needed it most in his life.
Even Johansson's performance is quiet. She hardly ever speaks, yet her eyes and her face speak volumes. It is by far one of her best performances, only rivaled by her rendition of Charlotte in "Lost in Translation" where, incredibly enough, she plays the role of a woman who connects with an older man on a very human level and yet no physical consummation is ever present. Very much so like Griet and Vermeer connect in the confines of his studio and yet are worlds apart outside of it.
I enjoyed the movie very much but it is clearly not for everyone. It can seem slow at times, too quiet in others, but it's worth seeing if just for Johansson's performance, one which I am sure she will get recognized for.