Dir: Peter Webber
For those of you not in the know, this movie is an adaptation of a book, which was itself a fictional 'adaptation' of the painting of the original Dutch masterpiece of the same name (by Johannes Vermeer). I am a sucker for adaptations, as it is always fascinating to analyse the decisions made in the conversion - so you can easily imagine how drawn I was to this unique trilogy of media. After especially enjoying Tracy Chevalier's novel, with her intelligent and understated heroine in Griet (the 'girl' of the main tile) and an excellently drawn 17th century Holland, I looked forward to savouring the movie.
As a largely silent character who maintains her place in the Vermeer household as servant, I remember reading a reviewer at the time of release commenting that only Scarlett Johansson could pull off being so compelling (and demure) whilst remaining so quiet. Indeed, the movie was a delicious visual feast, as gorgeous as the novel, but it was sadly missing a lot of the intelligence of Griet. This is almost certainly a concession of the movie - the heroine's inner thoughts can hardly conveyed as well as in the novel - so that Griet has become a lot more gormless and a lot less determined to do what is best, despite her unknowable desires and difficult circumstances. Just watch the way Griet (Scarlett) hangs her mouth open throughout the film - it's just like the painting. In the book, Griet presses her lips together all the time, because she wanted to seem in control and proper - therein lies the signficance of the open-mouthed pose in the painting. The movie makes of for this by making a scene out of Vermeer ordering her to lick and moisten her lips for his pose - thus placing a more obvious emphasis on what is supposed to be on The Girl's mind.
A lot of other elements have been left out from the book, and some could have been swapped for others, but all this is just part of the fun of adaptations. If you like historical fiction, then certainly give the novel a read and then treat yourself to the book - let me know if you
feel the same way about the different interpretations of Griet.
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