Set in 17th century Holland, Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the imagined, intriguing and highly seductive story behind one of Vermeer’s greatest and most enigmatic paintings. Griet (Scarlett Johansson), a tilemaker’s daughter, is forced by tragedy to become a maid for the master painter (Colin Firth).
Delft, Holland, 1665. After her father, a tile painter, is blinded in a kiln explosion, seventeen year old Griet must work to support her family. She becomes a maid in the house of Johannes Vermeer and gradually attracts the master painter’s attention. Though worlds apart in upbringing, education and social standing, Vermeer recognizes Griet’s intuitive understanding of color and light and slowly draws her into the mysterious world of his paintings.
Vermeer is a perfectionist, often taking months to finish a painting. His shrewd mother-in-law, Maria Thins, struggles to maintain the family’s lavish lifestyle on the income from his painstaking meager output. Seeing that Griet inspires Vermeer, she takes the dangerous decision to allow their clandestine relationship to develop.
Plunged into a chaotic Catholic household run by Vermeer’s volatile wife Catharina, surrounded by an ever-increasing brood of children, Griet is increasingly at risk of exposure or worse. Twelve-year-old Cornelia, a mischievous girl who sees more than she should, quickly grows jealous and suspicious of Griet and is determined to cause trouble.
Alone and unprotected, Griet also contends with the attention of Pieter, a local butcher boy, and Vermeer’s patron, the wealthy and lascivious Master van Ruijven, who is frustrated that his money does not buy him control over the artist. While Griet falls increasingly under Vermeer’s spell, she cannot be sure of his feelings for her. The Machiavellian van Ruijven, sensing the intimacy between master and maid, gleefully contrives a comission for Vermeer to paint Griet alone. The result will be one of the greatest paintings ever created, but at what cost?
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. Scarlett Johansson stars as Griet, a young 17th-century servant in the household of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (played by Colin Firth) at the time he painted Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) in the city of Delft in Holland. Other cast members include Tom Wilkinson, Cillian Murphy, and Judy Parfitt.
Hetreed read the novel before its publication, and her husband’s production company convinced Chevalier to sell the film rights. Initially, the production was to feature Kate Hudson as Griet with Mike Newell directing. Hudson withdrew shortly before filming began, however, and the film was placed in hiatus until the hire of Webber, who re-initiated the casting process. In this, which was his feature film debut, Webber sought to avoid employing traditional characteristics[clarification needed] of the period film drama. Cinematographer Eduardo Serra used distinctive lighting and colour schemes similar to Vermeer’s paintings.
Released on 12 December 2003 in North America and on 16 January 2004 in the United Kingdom, Girl with a Pearl Earring earned a worldwide gross of $31,466,789. It garnered a mostly positive critical reception, with a 72% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Critics generally applauded the film’s visuals and performances while questioning elements of its story. The film was subsequently nominated for ten British Academy Film Awards, three Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards.
Girl With a Pearl Earring’s world premiere occurred at the Telluride Film Festival on 31 August 2003. In North America it was distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment. The film was limited in release to seven cinemas on 12 December 2003, landing in 32nd place for the week with $89,472. Lions Gate slowly increased its release to a peak of 402 cinemas by 6 February 2004. Its total domestic gross was $11,670,971.
The film was released in the United Kingdom on 16 January 2004 by Pathé Films. In its opening week, the film finished in tenth place with a total of £384,498 from 106 cinemas. In the UK and Ireland, the film finished in 14th place for the year with a total box office gross of £3.84 million. It had a worldwide gross of $31,466,789.
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
Directed by: Peter Webber
Starring: Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson, Essie Davis, Alakina Mann, Cillian Murphy, Judy Parfitt, Leslie Woodhall, Gabrielle Reidy, Anna Popplewell
Screenplay by: Olivia Hetreed
Cinematography by: Eduardo Serra
Film Editing by: Kate Evans
Costume Design by: Dien van Straalen
Set Decoration by: Cecile Heideman
Art Direction by: Christina Schaffer
Music by: Alexandre Desplat
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sexual content.
Release Date: December 12, 2003
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