The imagery in this movie evokes the atmosphere of the old dutch paintings. The pace is meditative and the pictures breathe and come to life... Bewitching...
A remarkable work.
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I am very displeased with the DVD GIRL WITH A PEARL ERRING. I purchased a used DVD that had a gaurantee in good condition on it. It played great until almost the end. Then stuck and dragged through until the ending without a voice.
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3 stars out of 4
Added 5/5/2009
The Bottom Line:
An impressive adaptation of Chevalier's novel that (for my money) does many things better than the book, Girl With a Pearl Earring resists any urges to amplify the book's quiet drama and instead turns in a subtly effective little story.
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Another lost opportunity
Added 4/15/2009
I give this movie 3 stars due to the transcendent beauty of the filming.
I give it only 3 due to the second half of the movie. I give the first half 5 stars plus! The problem? It is similar to such movies as "Immortal Beloved", the one about Beethoven that has gotten so many rave reviews. They are both lost opportunities of creating movies about artists, composers which reflect truth. How much more exciting, interesting and moving would it have been if it had followed what we know of the life of the artist and the creation of the painting...which is not much, but less is more.
In this one, we know little about the life of Vermeer, so what do directors, screenwriters, producers do...they make up salacious sensational soap-opera events to attract the 21st century movie going audience. What they have done is blasphemous to the integrity and art of Vermeer. Why couldn't we have had a movie about ONLY the creation of this incredible painting..."The Girl with the Pearl Earring"? Just the making of the painting, without adding fabricated rapes and domestic marital strife. It is almost as if the creators of this movie hated Vermeer.
Shame on you. Shame on those who created the false sensationalism of the Beethoven Immortal Beloved movie too.
If you purchase this movie. Watch only the first half. The last half is not about art or Vermeer, but about money for filmakers. Filmakers who have no understanding of what true beauty is, and the spiritual integrity which ensues if you follow truth rather than cheap tawdry fiction.
P.S. The actors were wonderful, I give them 5 stars, despite the meretricious screenplay.
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Disappointing Ending
Added 4/11/2009
This movie was beautifully done.The scenery was truly lovely.The ending was so abrupt though.It just ends!! Nothing like the ending in the book. so for me that knocks it down a few notches.Scarlet Johanson did a wonderful job however, her face looked like she was always in pain!
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Gorgeous outfits, breathtaking scenery, great performances
Added 2/16/2009
Helen Hunt plays the role of Mrs. Erlynne, who lives off of other women's husbands. The movie opens in New York City during the 30's and we see this gorgeous and self assured femme fatale no longer welcomed by society because of the danger she represents. The credit she once had, provided by the rich and famous is no longer available but she wants to move to new territory and is forced to sell her jewelry to have enough money to buy passage to travel to the Amalfi Coast, the region of Italy's coastline located south of Naples.
The beautiful settings of Amalfi, Positano and Ravello make this movie a cinematographic wonder. The shots of this world renowned stretch of mountainous coastline are breathtaking and we could not help but want to visit the picturesque villages, the beautiful villas that cling to the cliffs as if designed to become part of a portrait.
We get to walk with the actors through the streets of these fishing villages and we join them as they purchase their lunch from the fresh catch of the day. Mrs. Eflynne has apparently set her sight on a newly married Robert Windermere, played by Mark Umbers.
Meg Windermere, played by Scarlett Johansson is portrayed as naïve, completely in love with her husband and incapable of doing anything to jeopardize her marriage. But when her husband starts to visit Mrs. Eflynne at her villa the local gossips become convinced that they are involved in a torrid affair and they become the talk of the town.
John Standing delivers an outstanding performance as Dumby, the high society wealthy Lord Darlington, twice-divorced and reluctant to ever marry again, and yet, he is so smitten by Mrs. Eflynne that he proposes matrimony to the "American" woman that every woman despises and every man admires.
This is one of those few movies that took us by surprise as the plot twists and turns, and rather than revealing it to you, we simply recommend seeing it. If you have ever traveled through Italy, this movie will remind you of the great natural beauty of Amalfi, Ravello, Sorrento and Rome. Gorgeous attire, elegant settings, delightful performances and delicious give and take by the men... Don't miss it!
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Modern take on 19th century morality tale
Added 10/15/2008
What makes this film wonderful is that it is made after Oscar Wilde's play "Mrs. Windermere's Fan". For anyone who saw his play in the theatre, this film is visual disappointment in terms of costumes, jewelry, hair and mannerisms of the female characters. Two main female leads Scarlet Johnasson and Helen Hunt are miscast. It is almost as if their roles are reversed. Johansson is too seductive to be cast as a prim young bride, while Hunt's thin lips and deep, severe facial lines make her even less appealing in her role of a seductress of men. Wilde's smart snippets of wisdom make this film lively. Although film was made in Italy, I wish there were more beautiful places showing in the film that could entice some true romantic emotions - but that is not the case. Tom Wilkinson is great in portraying aging, wealthy man, somewhat pretending to be shallow and yet remaining irresistibly endearing. The moral tale of how men can get away with being a playboy while women have to conform to a higher standards of a moral virtue is still true today. I liked the line that Helen Hunt had where she says to a young woman:"Do you think that just because we got a right to vote that makes us equal to the standards of men?" Good entertainment, but not a great movie.
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One of My Favorites
Added 9/9/2008
I saw this film on an international flight a couple of years ago, before it was released in the US, and loved it. I thought everyone in it was great, the location perfect for the story, and that all of the elements came together nicely. I've seen it several times since and my feeling for this film has not changed. It's one of my all-time favorite films.
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