Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)

Director:

Peter Webber

Writers:

Tracy Chevalier (novel)
Olivia Hetreed (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 January 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Discover the mystery behind the legend.

Plot:

A young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.

Plot Keywords:

Painter | Maid | Girl | Painting | Johannes Vermeer

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 35 nominations

Cast

Colin Firth	...	Johannes Vermeer
Scarlett Johansson	...	Griet
Tom Wilkinson	...	Pieter Van Ruijven
Judy Parfitt	...	Maria Thins
Cillian Murphy	...	Pieter
Essie Davis	...	Catharina Bolnes Vermeer
Joanna Scanlan	...	Tanneke
Alakina Mann	...	Cornelia Vermeer
Chris McHallem	...	Griet's Father
Gabrielle Reidy	...	Griet's Mother
Rollo Weeks	...	Frans
Anna Popplewell	...	Maertge
Anaïs Nepper	...	Lisbeth
Melanie Meyfroid	...	Aleydis
Nathan Nepper	...	Johannes
Lola Carpenter	...	Baby Franciscus
Charlotte Carpenter	...	Baby Franciscus
Olivia Chauveau	...	Baby Franciscus
Geoff Bell	...	Paul the Butcher
Virginie Colin	...	Emilie Van Ruijven
Sarah Drews	...	Van Ruijven's Daughter
Christelle Bulckaen	...	Wet Nurse
John McEnery	...	Apothecary
Gintare Parulyte	...	Model
Claire Johnston	...	White-Haired Woman
Marc Maes	...	Old Gentleman
Robert Sibenaler	...	Priest (as Pere Robert Sibenaler)
Dustin James	...	Servant 1
Joe Reavis	...	Servant 2
Martin Serene	...	Sergeant
Chris Kelly	...	Gay Blade
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leslie Woodhall	...	Neighbour (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Webber

Writing credits
Tracy Chevalier		(novel)
Olivia Hetreed		(screenplay)

Produced by
Joep Bannenberg	....	consulting producer
Bob Bellion	....	co-producer
Peter Block	....	executive producer
Anna Campeau	....	associate producer
Jason Constantine	....	co-producer
Jimmy de Brabant	....	co-producer
Nick Drake	....	executive producer
Philip Erdoes	....	executive producer
Matthew T. Gannon	....	co-producer
Rebby Gregg	....	associate producer
François Ivernel	....	executive producer
Daria Jovicic	....	executive producer
Cameron McCracken	....	executive producer
Tom Ortenberg	....	executive producer
Andy Paterson	....	producer
Duncan Reid	....	executive producer
Guy Tannahill	....	line producer
Anand Tucker	....	producer

Original Music by
Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography by
Eduardo Serra		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Kate Evans

Casting by
Leo Davis

Production Design by
Ben van Os

Art Direction by
Christina Schaffer

Set Decoration by
Cecile Heideman

Costume Design by
Dien van Straalen

Makeup Department
Anita Burger	....	makeup artist
Aurélie Elich	....	crowd hair
Aurélie Elich	....	makeup supervisor
René Jordan	....	assistant hair stylist
René Jordan	....	assistant makeup artist
Claudine Moureaud	....	hair assistant
Claudine Moureaud	....	makeup assistant
Joël Seiller	....	additional hair stylist
Jenny Shircore	....	hair designer
Jenny Shircore	....	makeup designer
Béatrice Stéphany	....	hair stylist
Béatrice Stéphany	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Bénédicte Humbel	....	production manager
Jos van der Linden	....	production manager
Emma Zee	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alexandre Brown	....	additional third assistant director
Ralph Eisenmann	....	second assistant director
Sébastien Fernandes Tasch	....	daily third assistant director
Sean Guest	....	first assistant director
Stefan Magnusson	....	third assistant director
Andy Paterson	....	second unit director
Beatrice Pettovich	....	second assistant director
Jim Probyn	....	third assistant director
Julian Stevens	....	additional third assistant director: dailies

Art Department
Boris Bartholomäus	....	construction manager
Klaus Bienen	....	propmaker
Gaspard Blet	....	painter
Claudio Campana	....	assistant art director
Angela Castro	....	scenic painter
Manuel Demoulling	....	stand-by props
François Dickes	....	props buyer
Thomas Ferrandis	....	carpenter
Ricardo Galvao	....	art department assistant
Annett 'Gogo' Golinski	....	draper
Svet Hrouchoff	....	carpenter
François Mast	....	carpenter
Joel Mast	....	carpenter
Graham Mitchell	....	carpenter
Edouard Pallardy	....	head painter
Barbara Prati	....	painter
Stephanie Rass	....	art department assistant
Laurent Schuster	....	painter
Rosie Stapel	....	assistant head painter
Todd Van Hulzen	....	set designer

Sound Department
Dirk Bombey	....	boom operator
Peter Burgis	....	foley artist
Arthur Graley	....	foley editor
Arthur Graley	....	sound editor
Nigel Heath	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dan Morgan	....	dialogue editor
Jamie Roden	....	adr mixer
James Seddon	....	dolby consultant
Julian Slater	....	supervising sound editor
Carlo Thoss	....	production sound mixer
Seppe van Groeningen	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Alain Couty	....	special effects coordinator
Clive R. Kay	....	special effects contact lenses
Lawrence Michael	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Tim Baxter	....	film recording
Charles Darby	....	matte paintings
Paul Edwards	....	visual effects producer: Cinesite
James Eggleton	....	digital I/O support: Cinesite
Stuart Pitcher	....	digital compositor
Dan Victoire	....	digital I/O support
Kathy Wise	....	digital systems manager
Aviv Yaron	....	2D technical director: Cinesite
Roma O'Connor	....	bidding producer (uncredited)
Courtney Vanderslice	....	head of production: Cinesite (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Alex Aach	....	clapper loader
Benny Ashoff	....	focus puller: "b" camera
Jaap Buitendijk	....	still photographer
Gilbert Degrand	....	best boy
Dieter Depypere	....	epk camera operator
Pierre Dermience	....	electrician
Kevin Dresse	....	electrician
Johnny Feurer	....	focus puller: "b" camera
Svet Hrouchoff	....	grip assistant
Max Jacoby	....	clapper loader: "b" camera
Helder Loureiro Alves Da Silva	....	lighting technician
Nunes Neto Ornei	....	grip
José Alberto Pinto de Jesus	....	electrician
Mike Proudfoot	....	camera operator
Mike Roberts	....	video assist operator
Alf Tramontin	....	Steadicam operator
Alf Tramontin	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Tony Turner	....	key grip
Wolfgang Wesemann	....	assistant camera

Casting Department
Louis Elman	....	adr voice casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Vesna Libric	....	wardrobe assistant
Magdalena Marczynska	....	wardrobe assistant
Jovana Sujdovic	....	wardrobe assistant
Aleksandra Valozic	....	wardrobe
Katja Wolf	....	daily wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Steve Farman	....	negative cutter
Matt Gauci	....	avid technical support
Andrew Melhuish	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Sam Okell	....	assistant scoring engineer

Transportation Department
Gaby Meyers	....	facility/truck driver
Francois Muller	....	truck driver
Igor Pecirep	....	driver: Tom Wilkinson
Otfried Suppin	....	driver
Kevan Willis	....	driver: cast

Other crew
Bob Bellion	....	financial manager
Peter Brown	....	production secretary
Natasha Coombs	....	script supervisor
Linda Gamble	....	unit publicist
Ambroise Gayet	....	production assistant
Charles Howes	....	tutor
Andrew Jack	....	dialect coach
Paula Jalfon	....	production executive
Joe Kotroczo	....	location assistant
Patricia Kretschmer	....	assistant: Mr. de Brabant
Maurice Landsberger	....	production accountant
Roberto Longobardi	....	production accountant
Richard Morrison	....	title designer
Francois Muller	....	facilities
Sébastien Peiffer	....	location manager
Olivier Printz	....	location assistant
Joanne Reichling	....	production coordinator
Sarah Trowse	....	assistant accountant: Luxembourg
Susan Weeks	....	tutor chaperone
Susanna Wyatt	....	head of physical production: Pathé Pictures

Production Companies

• Archer Street Productions
• Delux Productions
• Pathé Pictures International
• Film Fund Luxembourg
• UK Film Council
• Wild Bear Films

Distributors

• Concorde Filmverleih (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• FS Film Oy (2004) (Finland) (theatrical)
• GAGA (Japan) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Mikado (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Monopole-Pathé (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Zima Entertainment (2004) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2004) (Netherlands)
• Bontonfilm (Czech Republic)
• EuroVideo (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• FS Film Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD) (VHS)
• Hollydan Works (2005-????) (Serbia and Montenegro) (DVD)
• ITI Cinema (2004) (Poland) (all media)
• Pathé Distribution (UK)
• Pathé (France)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (Scandinavia)
• Teleview International (2003) (Lebanon) (TV) (Middle East)
• Vértigo Films (Spain)
• With Cinema (Korea)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Cinesite (visual effects)
• Capital FX (opticals)
• SFX Factory S.A. (special effects equipment)
• Cinesite

Other Companies

• Abbey Road Studios  music mixed at
• Capital FX  opticals
• Fig Productions  titles
• Film & Television Facilities  facility vehicles
• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• Goldcrest Post Production London  ADR Facility
• Hackenbacker Sound  sound post-production
• Kodak  motion picture film supplied by
• Location Consulting & Facilities  facilities vehicles
• Sky Media Travel  travel agent
• Sony Studios  music recorded at

Also Known As:

"La jeune fille à la perle" - Luxembourg (French title)
"Das Mädchen mit dem Perlenohrring" - Austria, Germany, Switzerland (German title)
"Flicka med pärlörhänge" - Finland (Swedish title), Sweden
"Девушка с жемчужной серёжкой" - Russia
"Das Mädchen mit einem Perlenohrring" - Germany
"Djevojka s bisernom nausnicom" - Croatia
"Dziewczyna z perla" - Poland
"Inci küpeli kiz" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Jinju gwigeolireul han sonyeo" - South Korea
"La chica con arete de perla" - Argentina (imdb display title)
"La jeune fille à la perle" - France
"La joven con el arete de perla" - Mexico (imdb display title)
"La joven de la perla" - Spain
"La ragazza con l'orecchino di perla" - Italy
"Leány gyöngy fülbevalóval" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Mergina su perlo auskaru" - Lithuania (imdb display title)
"Moça com Brinco de Pérola" - Brazil
"Na'ara Im Aggeel Pnina" - Israel (Hebrew title)
"Pige med perleørering" - Denmark (imdb display title)
"Pike med perleøredobb" - Norway
"Rapariga com Brinco de Pérola" - Portugal
"To koritsi me to margaritarenio skoulariki" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Tyttö ja helmikorvakoru" - Finland

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK | Luxembourg

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:LH | Malaysia:U | Hungary:14 | Czech Republic:12 | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:PG | USA:TV-PG (cable rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-7 | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Archer Street Productions

Trivia:

The painting that Griet inspired Vermeer to paint while she is washing the window of his studio is called "Woman with a Water Jug". It is currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Vermeer shows Griet the camera obscura, the scene that is set up for the painting is the one he just sold of the woman examining the pearls in the mirror. But when Griet looks into the camera, it's the scene with the woman at the window.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Griet's Mother:Griet! Leave that.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004) (TV)

A cinematic homage to 17th Century Flemish painters (not just Vermeer). (minor spoilers)

Girl with a Pearl Earring is based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier, who tells the story of a forbidden love affair (pardon the cliché) between painting master, Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), and the only woman who seemed to appreciate his work, a timid young maid named Grit (Scarlett Johansson).

Grit is hired to work in the Vermeer household. Had you not known anything about Vermeer prior to viewing the film, it seems as though he is some deformed creature the family wishes to keep secret. The family always linger near the door to Vermeer's studio, as though something dangerous was contained within. And, as the story goes along, you might get the impression that he is a nasty fellow, the way everyone approaches the studio so delicately, careful not to disturb anything. Says one maid to Grit, he doesn't like people bothering him when he is working.

In a way, Johannes is a real bastard to his wife, children, and mother-in-law. As a painter, they're never sure whether he is going to get the commissions from the arrogant, but jolly rich patron Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson), or whether they'll be escaping debtors by fleeing in the middle of the night.

Grit is curious, and at the same time, smitten with Johannes Vermeer, probably because of the initial mystery. She gains an interest in Vermeer, and in a way, also becomes his painting apprentice, helping him to mix paints, making creative suggestions about the paintings, and so forth. Vermeer introduces her to a rather different world that Grit has never known. And the two for a silent bond, a love for each other. Johannes appreciate's Grits company as a comfortable contrast to his mother-in-law, children, and especially his wife, he only seem to try to discourage his silly hobbies.

But, Johannes and Grit cannot act on their feelings for each other, at least not aloud. Divorce was highly out of the question, for one thing. But second, Johanne's was dependent on the arrogant Van Rijn for his commissions, and Van Rijn wanted Grit. Disgusted as Johannes may have been, and only slightly able to protect her (you'll see what I mean in the finale), he can't totally reject his financer. Plus, there is the barrier of master and maid, presenting a rigid social structure. And for Grit, she can only play out her affair with Johannes vicariously through her boyfriend, the Butcher.

Even if the story is not grounded in fact, or is based on little fact, the story of how Vermeer's painting, The Girl With a Pearl Earring came to be is one that presents a little mystery and romance to a painting. You can find something to appreciate it, beyond just consideration of the artistic elements of lighting or coloring, etc. In fact, art is always more fun with an intriguing story behind it (consider the controversy behind Whistler's 'Peacock Room').

I thought the movie did a fantastic job of recreating 17th century Netherlands. But what you may not know without having seen many 17 century painting, is that nearly every scene in the movie is constructed from 17 th century paintings, of Vermeers, Frans Halls, Van Dyke, and many others. The entire movie is, as one other viewer coined it, a "cinematic painting," but not just because it is a movie about the beauty of one painting, but because it is a movie entirely constructed from paintings. It was really incredible how precise everything is. Lighting, placement of figures. The actors would have to walk around a room and then at one point, hit their points precisely (props and all) to capture that one moment reflected in the painting from which it was taken from. This is really a great film for the art direction alone.