Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Girl with a Pearl Earring
2003
**
Director: Peter Webber
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, Essie Davis, Judy Parfitt

This adaptation of Tracy Chevalier's novel weaves a fictional story around the creation of Johannes Vermeer's titular painting. The girl with the pearl earring, it claims, is Vermeer's maid who had a soft spot for art(ist). 17th century Delft is beautifully recreated, but the characters feel too modern and, frankly, cliched. And there really isn't much of a story to tell, as it turns out.