Girl with a Pearl Earring
Short description
Girl with a Pearl Earring is a drama set in the Dutch city of Delft in the 1660s. Griet, a sixteen-year-old from a family left in hardship after her father lost his sight, takes work as a maid in the household of the painter Johannes Vermeer. She is quiet and dutiful, but she notices how light and colour behave in the rooms around her, and this catches the painter's attention. Vermeer begins to teach her about his craft and lets her help in his studio, which disturbs the household, where his mother-in-law Maria Thins runs the family and his wife Catharina is kept apart from his working life. The wealthy patron Pieter Van Ruijven, whose favour the family depends on, also watches Griet closely. Eventually Vermeer asks her to pose for him, and she becomes the model for the painting that gives the film its title.
The film was directed by Peter Webber, his first feature, from a screenplay by Olivia Hetreed based on Tracy Chevalier's novel. It was produced by Anand Tucker and Andy Paterson. Scarlett Johansson plays Griet, with Colin Firth as Vermeer, Tom Wilkinson as Van Ruijven, Cillian Murphy as Pieter, Judy Parfitt as Maria Thins and Essie Davis as Catharina. It runs 101 minutes and was made for about 11 million dollars, returning roughly 31 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.9 from around 85,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.6 from about 1,500 votes. A critics' rating sits higher, at 7.1 from 177 reviews, placing it above the audiences' scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Initially, Kate Hudson and Ralph Fiennes were to star in the film, with Mike Newell as director. During pre-production, Hudson declined to participate in the project, and as a result, the funds allocated to the film were withdrawn. By the time a new source of funding was found, Mike Newell was already committed to another project. After searching for new candidates, Peter Webber took the director's chair and recast the leading female role. He chose Kirsten Dunst, who later also turned down the offer due to the success of "Spider-Man" (2002) and its planned sequel. By this time, Ralph Fiennes could no longer wait and had become involved in other projects. Only then were Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth invited to play the leading roles.
- A significant portion of the film was shot on a set in Luxembourg, built for the film "The Reckoning" (2004), which was set in Venice. Only minimal changes were made for "Girl with a Pearl Earring" to make the location appear as the Dutch city of Delft.
- The storyline involving Vermeer's friend, played by David Morrissey, was completely cut from the film during final editing.
- Samantha Morton and Julia Stiles also auditioned for the role of Griet.
- The painting that inspired Vermeer, while Griet was cleaning the window of his studio, is called "Woman with a Water Pitcher" and was painted between 1660 and 1662. It is currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
- Although the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer and his depicted painting existed in reality, the film's script is based on Tracy Chevalier's novel and is, accordingly, largely fictional or based on the author's assumptions. Only 35 of Vermeer's paintings have survived to this day, and none of his models have been definitively identified. A reproduction of his famous painting hanging in her bedroom inspired the writer to create her version of the story of its creation based on the information we have about the artist's life. Chevalier sold the rights to her novel and did not wish to participate in the making of the film or the writing of the screenplay, although she later expressed satisfaction with the resulting film.
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