(Karen) The Dean Martin or Humbert Humbert Memorial gallery ROTF! This one is one of my all time favorites now. Not always fond of the toothy smile, but he looks so relaxed and dare I say.....happy. ;-) (Janet) Doesn't he look a little inebriated? Just a tad, perhaps? ;-) Thanks, Karen! those look like from a VHS tape, not a DVD. Um, is that good or bad?

Oh bugger!

Thanks for all of the lovely Hannukah presents, especially those fun pics!

(Janet) Doesn't he look a little inebriated? Hmmmm .. .perhaps a just little???? Karen - do love the pics . .nice to seem ODB relaxed and having a good time! Ada - thanks for the link . . great pics also!

"That last martini at the Mikimoto party did me in."

"Who's she talking to?"

"Mishimoko . . . Mokomiti . . . Mooshimuki . . ." "Fabio . . . you're flagged!" (Boss)OK, the tapping and poking can stop. But it was so much fun.;-) The Dean Martin or Humbert Humbert Memorial gallery is up LMAO! Thanks, Karen, these are priceless and worth the wait!

According to this, HS will be on VHS (NTSC) in April: http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/h/hopesprings.php There's a big ad supplement in Entertainment Weekly for the Sundance Festival. Pics from all the films; Trauma one we've seen. Says there were 6,000 entries, but about 200 selected. "Many are called, but few are chosen." ;-) Trauma is screening out-of-competition in the "Premiere" section. Did Ebert & Roeper review GWAPE this week by any chance?

"Everybody loves somebody sometime. Everybody falls in love somehow."

(Mari) Did Ebert & Roeper review GWAPE this week by any chance? Nope; it just finished airing. Next week is a recap of the holiday blockbusters.

(Mari) Did Ebert & Roeper review GWAPE this week by any chance? (Karen)Nope; it just finished airing. Next week is a recap of the holiday blockbusters. OOOOOHHHHHHH! The injustice of it all. Ebert is always, always, always at Telluride and Toronto---but not his year because of cancer treatments.:-( I just know he would have given it both of his thumbs up if he could have been there to see just how excited I was about GWAPE!:-) Thanks again for the all the pics and articles! You ladies are in rare form again with those Mikimoto ones!:-)

Hey, these are pretty good! Could someone bring me another? What do you mean I can't have another one until I have a free hand? I'll finish this while waiting to get the next one and *then* put the glass down! Feel free to erase the other Karen. THanks.

I haven't had time to post much lately but I just had to comment on the Mooshimito party pics. Karen, you have outdone yourself! Dean Martin indeed. LOL!!! Those chocolate martinis must have been something else. I think Scarlett needs to pay a visit to CF's LA hairstylist;-)

What a hoot with those pictures,..... Thanks Karen from I who am not worthy(on floor raising and lowering arms overhead in praise). Could ODB look any more earnest in his expressions? Great fun!

(Karen)"Who's she talking to?" I dunno...but she's saying: "How come Vermeer doesn't put his arm around *me*?";-))

(Caribou) Ebert is always, always, always at Telluride and Toronto---but not his year because of cancer treatments.:-( I just know he would have given it both of his thumbs up if he could have been there to see just how excited I was about GWAPE!:-) He's going to give it a "rave" review whenever they get around to broadcasting it, probably closer to when it opens around the country. Ebert gives GWAPE his "Special Jury Prize" (didn't make his Top 10):"Girl With a Pearl Earring" is Peter Webber's sensuous meditation on artistic inspiration, starring Scarlett Johansson in the second of her great performances this year, as a poor girl who is employed as a maid in the home of the 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth) and not only inspires a famous painting but also makes an unmistakable artistic and emotional connection with him -- which the rigid social code of the time prevents them from acknowledging.Then, Roeper ranks Love Actually as #12 in his Top 25 list. You can see them all here: http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/sho-sunday-rogerrich21.html

(Karen)"Who's she talking to?" (Evelyn)I dunno...but she's saying: "How come Vermeer doesn't put his arm around *me*?";-)) I thought that it looked like Joanna had been goosed (and both Alexandre and Colin seem ever so slightly guilty). ;-)

Another comment from the Pop Idol contestant who adores Colin in the Sunday Mirror: During Pop Idol, Michelle has been taken to all sorts of celebrity parties. And although she enjoys them, she insists the fame is not what attracted her to being a Pop Idol. "What's important to me is music and that's why I'm doing it," she said. "Having said that, the Love Actually premiere was fantastic. I'm in love with Colin Firth and I met him, which was amazing. Unfortunately he didn't know who I was! Someone told him I was from Pop Idol and he just went, 'Oh, charming'. I'm sure he's far too busy to watch TV on Saturday night. But he's lovely." http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/news/content_objectid=13746362_method=full_siteid=106694_headline=-MICHELLE--MY-SEX-AND-THE-CITY-LIFE-name_page.html

Mari and Karen, you are cracking me up!!! You'd think he'd be an expert by now after all those birthday parties. ;-) Picture precious. ;-) (beedee), Once more a case of much more information about reporter than I care to know. She came off a bit cheesy IMO:-( I agree. They are so full of themselves.

(whatshername at the independent) "Now, I had as big a crush on Mr Darcy as the next gal. I was 14 at the time, and I got over it as quickly as I did strawberry-mint lip gloss. My Mr Darcy served his purpose and was then cast aside - and Timothy Dalton never did it for me again. Ever." **duh ?** what's t. dalton got to do with this ? (ada) "The interviewer is (by her own admission!)22 (...)" you know what, ada ? this dalton nonsense had me wondering about this would-be confessional crap, so much so it had me reread the interview (oh sacrifices !) : i actualy believe she had a crush on darcy (the book character) when she was fourteen, and that she gave him the shape of t. dalton and hasn't even seen the bbc series (foolish antelope). would have taken place in the eighties, and she then would be in her thirties... anyway what do we even care, i agree on the lame quality of the whole thing. most of it sounds like soundbites from previous interviews, not to mention the annoying "it's for real !" special effects (he shrugs, he grimaces, he laughs, he picks his nose, he hits the stoopid interviewer on the head with a rather large and blunt instrument, etc. ) that suspiciously look like they come straight from "writing fiction in 10 lessons, chapter four : how to make great characterization". what a total waste of interview time. re: the dean martin / humbert humbert (LOL ! but don't martinis look more like a clare quilty thing ?) gallery : wahhahhaaaahhaaaa ! these are now my new favorite pix ever ! and just realizing the animatronic potential they have, i laughed so hard i almost peed my pants ! karen, i'll drink one to your health tonight (which is right now btw) ! (jane) Funny - his glass is full or almost full in every shot that he's got a glass in his hand. Do you think that the martini is just another "affectation"? ;-)) getting drunk without swallowing, just like smoking without inhaling ? or maybe he drank too quickly for the photographer : careful ! beware of the dreadful martini-elbow ! ahaha for the caption contest ! keep it up everyone ! (with a slight slurr) "and ! and ! and ! let me introbooze, introdushhhh you to my new beshhhh, friend, the bartender, johnnywhat'syournameagaingogetmeanotheronepronto?"

lovely pictures! He is looking so good, hair and all (and that chest hair too ;-)

tags closed. "come on colin, that's enough, hold on tigt and i'll call you a taxi" "oh shuturp scarlett, you know, now that i'm in my fourties, i can hold my drink... oooops !"

ooops, forgot this one : of course, "hugh grant ? where ?"

ROTF Sophie.... Wonder if Mushimoto gave her those gorgeous pearls keepsies. I didn't think the Independent interview was any different than any of the others. Remember a few weeks ago we had the gal from the Daily Scotland Express who proceeded to tell us the saga of getting an interview and her cold legs etc. They all have an axe to grind, it seems.

I would think if it involved an interview with Colin, they'd have something they'd prefer to grind than an axe. ;-D Sophie, thanks for the theory that gives the possible reason for the Timothy Dalton connection in that interview. Thought maybe she confused P&P with the version of Wuthering Heights TD did. ;-)

I have to agree that these are some of the best pics of him I've seen in a long time. A few drinks seems to agree with him - he's even better looking than usual. -Most people look a bit bedraggled after a few!!

Can you say, Veeta, vita, vegamin? Thank you, Karen for these Dino cocktail beauties, and everyone for making me LMAO, today.

(Janet) I have to agree that these are some of the best pics of him I've seen in a long time. A few drinks seems to agree with him - he's even better looking than usual. A few drinks and...........oh, nevermind. ;-)

LOL! Ladies! Those pics were meant for creative captioning. (Karen)"Who's she talking to?" The "she" is SJ. Don't know about you, but something else has caught his eye and he isn't amused. A little possessive?? ;-) (Sophie) i actualy believe she had a crush on darcy (the book character) when she was fourteen, and that she gave him the shape of t. dalton and hasn't even seen the bbc series Interesting deductive reasoning. The woman probably extrapolated Heathcliff onto Austen's pages. Funnily enough, Heathcliff came to mind when I first saw Colin's Darcy. I remember thinking to myself, 'who does he think he's playing? Heathcliff?' ;-) True, true re: Dean Martin and his drink of choice (would've been Scotch or similar) but he had htat bobbing and weaving look. Comments from Alexandre Desplat upon hearing of his GG nomination: "Each of the collaborators had a jewel box to fill with his idea of what the jewel should be," said "Girl With a Pearl Earring" composer Alexandre Desplat, a first-time nominee. "My role was to lighten up the restrained love and desire between Griet (Scarlett Johansson) and Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth)." Desplat said he wrote for a big-string orchestra with a harp, piano, cello and vibraphone played with a bow to depict "the delicacy of Griett and her purity." The music was written in Desplat's atelier in Paris' Montparnasee district, which was where sculptor Constantin Brancusi had his first workshop. "He definitely played some part in inspiring the score," Desplat said. "In certain movies, the stars align and bring everything to life." Desplat said the Golden Globes are a "very big deal for a little composer from France."

(Karen)The "she" is SJ. Don't know about you, but something else has caught his eye and he isn't amused. A little possessive?? ;-) Ah, now all is clear. I wonder...;-)

Thanks Karen for the cocktail pics and the hilarious caption party they ignited! Not sure if this is what Janet's son saw but hopefully we can catch it at some point... Colin Firth appears in two notable end-of-year films, the romantic comedy Love BBC World's 'Talking Movies' Actually and the 17th century drama, Girl With A Pearl Earring. Laura Metzger sits down with Firth to discuss these two very different roles and whether he yearns for A-list Hollywood status. Airtimes: Wednesday 24th December = 04:30 hrs Friday 26th December = 00:30, 16:30 & 21:30 hrs Sunday 28th December = 05:30 hrs http://www.astro.com.my/v4/highlight/new.asp

(Dorine)I would think if it involved an interview with Colin, they'd have something they'd prefer to grind than an axe. ;-D Good one, Dorine. Never mind that stupid lapis;-) Has anyone see that Talking Movies segment on BBC America?

If there are any people planning trips to Sundance, who want to meet up with other Drooleurs, contact me at my "office" and I'll give you the keys to the broom closet, where such discussions take place. ;-)

Laura Metzger sits down with Firth to discuss these two very different roles and whether he yearns for A-list Hollywood status. The Beeb always asks him the same crap. Last time, Tom Brooke asked him why aren't you a big star in Hollywood. What can he say other than I'm happy the way things are. If he wasn't/isn't, do you think he'd tell them? I have an answer for him this time: "Mishimoko." ;-)

Colin is interviewed on the Independent Film Channel's "At the Angelika" show, which runs throughout the week. Anybody get this one? Check your local listings.

(MariaT)Not sure if this is what Janet's son saw but hopefully we can catch it at some point... The very one! Having watched it, there's nothing new - and she does ask him about Hollywood!!

The Beverly Hills Weekly had a small bit about the Mikimoto, unfortunately it was not done by a woman or I'm sure there would have been more about YKW... http://www.bhweekly.com/aroundtown.html

I don't think this has been posted yet . .if it has, sorry . .the flu has my brain a bit adled . . . LA Page - http://www.showbizdata.com/contacts/credits.cfm?mid=230574 GWAPE page - http://www.showbizdata.com/contacts/credits.cfm?mid=232298

Hi everyone LOVE ACTUALLY's international cumulative thus far (NOT including US Box office)is $104 million, which makes it Universal's sixth film to pass $100 million in 2003. This is not only great news obviously for the studio but for a certain someone who then continues to be considered for our future projects. A win win in my opinion. I look forward to BJD2 which will be distributed domestically (U.S. and Canada) by Miramax and worldwide by Uni like the last time. There are a couple of projects still in talking stages that I am excited about. I would have loved to see him cast in SYNERGY and THE GOOD SHEPHERD but there are others out there still a possibility. I would also like to see him in THE INTERPRETER. But we'll see :) But what do I know? :) HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON EVERYONE. I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR :)

(Hola Lola)This is not only great news obviously for the studio but for a certain someone who then continues to be considered for our future projects. A win win in my opinion. I so agree . . . can't wait to hear more about the projects of his that are still in negotiations!!!! Happy Happy Holidays Hola Lola!!

(BH Weekly) he next stop on the cocktail circuit was Mikimoto�s recently expanded berth in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, where hunky Colin Firth (�Love, Actually�) was raising his glass in celebration of his latest film, �Girl with the Pearl Earring� LOL! Not an aberration. Even this guy noticed this aspect. Thank goodness he didn't find the HH part noteworthy. What am I saying, he's in Beverly Hills. ;-)

Thanks Hola! Put in my vote for The Interpreter; just the kind of thing I've always wanted to see Colin do since...well, since I got here. ;-)

Hmmm, so does that mean that Sean Penn has turned The Interpreter down and has Dennis Quaid bowed out of Synergy?

(Karen)Hmmm, so does that mean that Sean Penn has turned The Interpreter down and has Dennis Quaid bowed out of Synergy? Hola's insider hint's?;) . .this could be interesting . .

sorry, did not mean to insinuate that Colin would be in SYNERGY or THE GOOD SHEPHERD. DiCaprio and Quaid are done deals. But there are others....... :)

(Hola) I would have loved to see him cast... My mistake. You were very clear about it.

Hola - Ah well . .just havin some wishful thinkin' . . .

(Lola), But there are others....... :) But... I thought you'd get back to us with "others", not done deals. Come on Lola, we can take a little speculation.

(Karen)Thanks Hola! Put in my vote for The Interpreter; Add my vote for this one, too! Oh, the thought of it!!! Thanks Hola. Happy Holidays! Just a tid bit: The Interpreter Release Date: November 19, 2004 Studio: Universal Pictures Director: Sidney Pollack Screenwriter: Charles Randolph Starring: Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn Genre: Thriller MPAA Rating: Not available Official Website: Not available Review: Not available DVD/VHS: Not available Movie Poster: Not available Plot Summary: Kidman will play a U.N. interpreter who overhears an assassination plot. When she becomes a target she's paired with a federal agent and together they work to stop the murder of an African leader addressing the General Assembly.

Looks like Sean Penn is the federal agent. Maybe Colin can be the African leader? ;-) (A dream come true) ;-))))))

Thanks for the exciting news Hola! (Moon)Looks like Sean Penn is the federal agent. Maybe Colin can be the African leader? ;-) (A dream come true) ;-)))))) Colin could always play the cuckolded husband/lover! Just kidding, just kidding... ;-)))

The soundtrack of GWAPE will be released on 19 January 2004. Can be pre-ordered now: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00013YQME/ref=sr_aps_music_1_1/202-8224568-1598264

(Moon) Maybe Colin can be the African leader? ;-) (A dream come true) ;-)))))) LOL! Interesting that all three projects require an American accent. I'd have to think way outside the box to come up with an FBI agent with a British accent. But that project isn't up for grabs anyway...

Can't believe but BBC has actually transcribed his interview (missing those ums and you knows) and you can watch it here, from the latest Talking Movies: http://www.bbcworld.com/content/template_talkingmovies.asp?pageid=665&co_pageid=6

(Karen)Interesting that all three projects require an American accent. I'd have to think way outside the box to come up with an FBI agent with a British accent. His "American" in A Thousand Acres wasn't all that bad . .a bit jarring for me though, b/c well, I always expect to hear that lovely deep posh voice to come out of his mouth;) . .I'll help ya think outta the box . .how bout a British Secret Service on loan to the FBI? . .doing consulting work? . .an expat? Would be interesting seeing ODB in some sort of Tom Clancy-ish project . . . lord, I'm rambling . .it's time to go to bed. . .

Channel 10 (Sydney) is showing 'The Making of Love Actually' on Thursday 25th at 3.30pm. Has this been shown elsewhere? Is it worth watching?

Enjoying all the speculations...It's nice to know even if it remains unnamed that there are projects out there with his name attached. And thanks for the BBC transcript Karen. Colin Firth's painful festive memories Last updated 22 December 2003 One celeb who perhaps isn't looking forward to Christmas as much as others is Colin Firth. The 'Love Actually' star admits he still has nightmares about the big day because of a bad childhood experience: "I remember electrocuting myself on the Christmas tree lights. I remember actually finding a socket and sticking my finger in it and lighting the Christmas tree up - literally." "I can remember the pain involved in that. I've always associated Christmas tree lights with pain as a result of that." "I also remember wondering why Santa Claus has such appalling teeth, and realising that this was my grandfather's attempt to disguise himself on his Santa visit." "He'd got some horrible false teeth from somewhere!" http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/news/entertainment/031222_colinfirth.shtml

From Film Stew.com - http://www.filmstew.com/Content/ReviewsViews/Details.asp?Pg=1&ContentID=7550 Monday, December 22, 2003 Girl with a Pearl Earring This somewhat superficial examination of the motivations behind Vermeer�s famous painting allows cinematographer Eduardo Serra to shine with his own palette of colors. By Todd Gilchrist Films about artists, much less their best known works, are often a tricky business. While some explain the creative process and suggest the verisimi-litude between the creator�s life and livelihood, others merely demystify the artist�s methods, or fail outright to explain much more than his or her penchant for outr� behavior. Johnannes Vermeer left behind a remarkable legacy with his body of work, but far be it from Girl With A Pearl Earring to reveal the shroud of mystery which surrounded it. The film, which stars Colin Firth and Scarlet Johannson as (respectively) the author and his subject, is about time, space, and texture, and sufficiently creates a fable around which the painting�s origins can be attached without so much as suggesting it is true. Johansson (Lost In Translation) plays Griet, a 17-year old who is sent to work in Vermeer�s home after her father, a once-famous painter himself, is blinded in an accident. Although treated coldly by her mistress Catharina (Essie Davis), Vermeer takes an odd shine to Griet and introduces her to the world of his art, from the appreciation of color to the creation of the materials themselves. When Vermeer�s patron, a lecherous glutton named van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson) asks for another painting, Vermeer finds inspiration in Griet�s luminous, low-key beauty, and crafts one of his most famous works. For those (like myself) unfamiliar with Vermeer�s legacy, it must be understood that the relationships between the characters are of secondary importance to the film�s purpose. Rather, the imagery - that of Vermeer�s canvas and director Peter Webber�s lush framing - is the key to the film�s resonance, and if you prefer a well-told narrative to stories of beauty and lyricism, you likely won�t enjoy Pearl Earring. The characterizations are ripe with melodrama and woven with conflicts that, unlike many films remain succinctly observed throughout the course of the film (or explained by its end), exist only to sustain the artistry of the moving image. As usual, Johansson is fantastic, playing to her strengths as a young, uncertain woman whose febrile curiosity gets the best of her good judgment, while Firth balances the attractive elusiveness of Vermeer with a sincere desire to create meaningful work. Wilkinson�s versatility is demonstrated yet again as Vermeer�s slimy, self-glorifying patron, and Davis perfectly captures the petulant jealousy of a woman so enraptured by her husband�s passion that she fails to realize that it by and large is his only one (despite his ever-growing progeny). However, the star of the film is clearly Eduardo Serra, the cinematographer for Unbreakable and What Dreams May Come amongst others, who will almost certainly a second Oscar nomination with Girl With A Pearl Earring (his first was in 1998 for Iain Softley�s Wings Of the Dove). The images are clean and beautiful, full of texture that the story cannot supply, revealing the very essence of Ver-meer�s work. Serra�s artistry creates a palpable atmosphere for the film that few others can sustain and works in tandem with Webber�s storytelling to create a deliberate pacing that never bores. It burns into the viewer�s mind the images and the characters, setting the stage for a post-cinema conversation over coffee or, in some cases, a solitary meditation about further comprehension of the film�s images. Girl With A Pearl Earring certainly isn�t for everyone - impatient fans of action spectaculars will likely find little to enjoy here - but it remains one of the year�s most curious spectacles. It almost seems like a film from another time and place, when patience and atmosphere transcended the need for gear-shifting plot points or exaggerated characterizations. Think of it as a Blow-Up for today�s generation. At a swift ninety minutes, however, the film hardly taxes one�s patience, and makes for a captivating transference of an artist�s work from one medium to another. Far be it from me to suggest anyone will achieve a resoundingly greater understanding of Vermeer�s work from this film, which bears more likeness to the paintings he completed than the life he lived. But Webber�s vision ought be considered a success if he convinces but one viewer to see more than one color in those clouds that cast down upon him or her once they�ve finished watching it. Like Griet�s stunning facial features, Girl With A Pearl Earring possesses a beauty that may not easily be explained, but it�s well worth a closer look.

Sorry . .I know I posted this on Odds and Ends . .but before it just had the Tracy Chevalier talking about the book . .now they posted the actual report entitled: Art Imitating Art: 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' A New Film Is Born of a Novel Inspired by Vermeer's Painting http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1555495

(Kimberley)His "American" in A Thousand Acres wasn't all that bad 3 DOR was. His voice gets distorted. Channel 10 (Sydney) is showing 'The Making of Love Actually' on Thursday 25th at 3.30pm. Has this been shown elsewhere? Is it worth watching? *rolling eyes* I like the BBC interviews that give the videos.Thanks. He doesn't come off "all" that stuffy as in print.

(Kimberley)His "American" in A Thousand Acres wasn't all that bad (Evelyn)3 DOR was. His voice gets distorted. TA was an American midwest accent. .I forgot . . was 3DOR a Boston accent? . .or was it NY?

(Moon) Looks like Sean Penn is the federal agent. Maybe Colin can be the African leader? ;-) (A dream come true) ;-)))))) LOL! But an assassin *would* be one of my dream roles for him. Thanks for the wee tidbit, Hola. Have a great holiday!! :-D

I forgot . . was 3DOR a Boston accent? . .or was it NY? Trans-Atlantic.

From IndieWire: This was a grand year for docs, and as 2003 draws to a close, one more doc topped the specialty box office over the weekend. Errol Morris' "The Fog of War" opened with a strong showing, while the previous weekend's number one, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" remained robust in the second position. Lions Gate's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" added one more venue, taking in $71,051 for a sparkling $8,881 per-screen average at eight sites. Lions Gate president Tom Ortenberg last week told indieWIRE the film will continue to have a slow expansion through December and will open the top 20 markets early in the new year. So far, the film has cumed $205,640. Ed note: GWAPE is currently on only 8 screens (NY/LA)

(Indie wire)This was a grand year for docs,......while the previous weekend's number one, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" remained robust in the second position. Wot? GWAPE considered a "doc"???

(Evelyn) Wot? GWAPE considered a "doc"??? No, but IndieWire's box office chart includes both docs and feature films. I only excerpted from the weekly news item and a documentary is currently in No 1 position.

That BBC Talking Movies interview is on this week's show on BBC America. What the online tape doesn't show is Tom Brook's generous intro: "Colin Firth is not an A-list star." Wot is this guy's hang-up??? :-( And to think we were nice to him at the premiere, Ev. Next time, I tell him off.;-) Good opening shot of the fan base at the LA premiere, though. Repeats on Thursday.

(Moon) Maybe Colin can be the African leader? ;-) (A dream come true) ;-)))))) LMAO, Moon! Re: American accents. We're hearing some *really* bad ones this holiday season, Emma Thompson and Ewan McGregor being among the worst offenders. But the performances are good so nobody cares. He wouldn't do any worse than them. A good dialect coach could help him maintain the tibre of his natural voice. while the previous weekend's number one, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" remained robust in the second position. Robust is good! Thanks for the latest articles and reviews, ladies.

An excerpt from: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/151/22.0.html Film Forum: Return of the Raves By Jeffrey Overstreet | posted 12/23/2003 Christianity Today Magazine Imagining the story behind Girl with the Pearl Earring The origins of a famous painting by Johannes Vermeer are at the center of novelist Tracey Chevalier's book Girl with a Pearl Earring. The painting, sometimes called "the Dutch Mona Lisa," gave Chevalier the idea to explore the life of the woman who might have been the subject of the work. She used what we know about Vermeer to invent a tantalizing plot about repressed passion, class prejudice, and the rare gift of artistic insight. Now, director Peter Webber has delivered a beautiful, soft-spoken work based on the novel, bringing this provocative fiction to life with the help of two talented actors: Colin Firth (Bridget Jones's Diary, Love Actually) and Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation.) Webber captures a vivid and convincing recreation of 17th century Holland, where young Griet goes to work as a maid for Vermeer's household. Griet sees to it that nothing in Vermeer's studio is disturbed as she cleans, so his painting will go untroubled. But her intuitions about light and composition lead to an inevitable influence on the master's work, and her humble service impresses him deeply. He spends his life surrounded by greedy and arrogant family members and patrons, and thus Griet's quiet spirit draws him powerfully. This is the second time this year that Scarlett Johansson has played a young lady with repressed longings, underappreciated and neglected, who is suddenly noticed by a depressed but observant older man. In both stories, their budding friendship toes the line of infidelity, and yet their ill-advised relationship draws the flaws in an already established marriage into the light. While this film is not as complex or as satisfying as Lost in Translation, it is worth seeing for lush, "painterly" cinematography, and for Johansson's performance. Webber captures the young actress's unique ability to suggest deep reservoirs of intelligence and emotion concealed behind dark eyes that seem to belong to a woman older and wiser than herself. In doing so, Webber finds the precise passion that indwells the painting, so when we finally see the finished work, we don't blink; it seems perfectly plausible that this is what someone would paint after looking at Johansson for hours. An actress has not communicated so much through so little since Juliette Binoche in Three Colors: Blue. Fortunately, they have found an actor who can bring the same amount of gravity to the screen to portray the painter. I never would have thought of Colin Firth to portray a contemplative, passionate painter, but he makes the intense, brooding figure intriguing without making him laughably morose. Strong supporting work is contributed by Tom Wilkinson as a lecherous but wealthy patron who keeps the Vermeer home afloat; Essie Davis as Catharina, Vermeer's statuesque wife, possessed of both a cold beauty and a volatile temper; and Judy Parfitt as Maria Thins, Catharina's mother, a formidable figure whose wicked arrogance is cracked by the fragility of her financial condition. Watching the film, I found myself easing into a reflective, contemplative state that movies rarely allow an audience to reach. While very little is said or done, there are important things happening in every minute of the film: curiosities developing, risks taken, covert endeavors, revelations. By inviting us to look closely for hints of emotion and suggestions of betrayal or sympathy, Webber quietly prepares us to approach Vermeer's visual art with sharper discernment. It never lectures us about the art, but it does inspire us to look more closely. I wish he could have taken this approach even farther. The film's most important theme, however, regards the liberating and inspiring experience of being seen. This poor, abused, overlooked girl never intentionally does a thing to draw Vermeer's attention; in fact, she avoids his gaze. But when his keen vision catches in her something of substance and of shared longing�not for erotic adventures, but for beauty and revelation�it is as if, to alter a line from e. e. cummings, "the eyes of her eyes are opened." Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) says, "The filmmakers have taken great care to honor Vermeer's genius and process. The cinematography in particular is superb and helps to give insight into Vermeer's world and vision. Scarlett Johansson is sublimely expressive in a nearly nonverbal role." Mainstream critics are again praising Johansson's talents, as well as the cinematography of this handsomely filmed story.

Caught the end of GWAPE with Scarlett, Colin and Peter at the Angelika last night: 10pm. He doesn't look as good as in those Mikimoto pictures. (Mari), A good dialect coach could help him maintain the tibre of his natural voice. That would be the point. I couldn't watch him in ATA, hated the accent and his voice change. (Dorine), But an assassin *would* be one of my dream roles for him. Wot? Colin kill an African leader? I refuse to believe it. ;-) I never would have thought of Colin Firth to portray a contemplative, passionate painter, but he makes the intense, brooding figure intriguing without making him laughably morose. I wonder how they do think of Colin? Sheesh, it looks like he must count his lucky stars that Ralph Fiennes passed. Thanks, Kimberley for all the articles.

(Mari)And to think we were nice to him at the premiere, Ev. Next time, I tell him off.;-) I even took his picture several times, I'm going to remove them from my album. Take that TB! Thanks for the articles, ladies, and Talking Movies heads up, Mari (Dorine)LOL! But an assassin *would* be one of my dream roles for him. Mine too, and he did say either on The Daily Show or CK thathe was dying to do a shoot 'em up type of role. Fingers crossed

(Mari)And to think we were nice to him at the premiere, Ev. Next time, I tell him off.;-) You can do it right here... http://bbcamerica.com/genre/movies_specials/talking_movies/tm_ask_question.jsp I plan to aft I see it on Thurs: ET 6:30, 7:30 8:30

Girl With a Pearl Earring By Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune 3 1/2 stars out of 4 "Girl with a Pearl Earring," a movie about Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer and the creation of one of his masterpieces, is a work of resplendent visual beauty, a film in which every frame pays tribute to Vermeer's genius and the power of art to transcend the world around us. But it's also a sad study of how society can entrap artists and lovers, an absorbing romantic drama full of acute psychological detail and social nuance. Director Peter Webber's picture, faithfully based on Tracy Chevalier's excellent 1998 novel, has the brilliant notion of showing Vermeer's world through the innocent eyes of one of his models, the fictitious Griet (Scarlett Johansson). "Girl" captures the look of Vermeer's city of Delft, Holland, 1665, through images meticulously patterned on his paintings. But it also convinces us that Griet and her employers are real -- and their world a living, breathing place of mud, bustle and sordid family tangles. The movie becomes another rapt portrait, and at its center, Johansson gives the second of two remarkable 2003 film performances. (The other is in "Lost in Translation.") As Griet, who barely says a word, Johansson creates both the portrait's image and a resilient but deeply sensitive girl, a social victim who becomes a sublime icon. Forced to become a maidservant to support her family, Griet is hired by Vermeer's imperious mother-in-law Maria Thins (Judy Parfitt), instructed by the veteran housekeeper Tanneke (Joanna Scanlan) and subject to the whims of Vermeer's neurotic and envious wife Catharina (Essie Davis). She is an outsider sucked into their intrigues and, more important, into the painter's vision. The movie constantly juxtaposes Vermeeresque images, bathed in magical light, and the mundane everyday routines they reveal. As Griet quietly goes about her chores, we sense her resentment, awe and wonder, and when the sad-eyed, slightly disheveled Vermeer (Colin Firth) spots her for the first time, something ignites between them. Is it love, sexual desire or simply the artist's recognition of a face suitable for framing? In any case, Vermeer, whose obsessive perfectionism keeps his family always on the financial edge, selects her as the model for a painting demanded by his main patron, the cynical voluptuary Van Ruijven. Van Ruijven (a stinging, nastily magnetic performance by Tom Wilkinson) has partly base motives, promoting Griet because he has sexual designs on her. But something more unspoken and tender flares up between Griet and Vermeer. The movie is more oblique than the novel, but Vermeer is forced to keep his jealous wife at bay -- especially when he decides to use one of Catharina's earrings, on Griet's ear, as the painting's center point. Griet, inevitably, is forced away from the mixture of hell and heaven into which she has fallen. Personally, I love the 17th-century Dutch masters -- Breughel, Bosch, Rembrandt and Vermeer -- and what I love most is their luminous detail and mastery of both realism and fantasy. "Girl," Webber's first feature, is luminous, too. In its immaculate design (by Peter Greenaway's constant collaborator, Ben van Os) and its radiant cinematography (by Eduardo Serra), it is truly a visual marvel. Almost all of the acting -- especially by Johansson, Wilkinson and Parfitt -- is superb as well: deeply imagined, crisp and lucid, with a touch of fire beneath. The single flaw, mostly a casting gaffe, is in Cillian Murphy's role as Griet's butcher-boy lover, Pieter. Murphy's fashion-model handsomeness contradicts the coarser character Chevalier drew, subverting the tale's precise romantic quadrangle. But the rest of it is wonderful. "Girl with a Pearl Earring" has a sad resolution -- sadder still if we know the fate of the real-life Vermeer, who died at 43 with a small body of work behind him (only 35 paintings extant today), or if we contemplate how Griet and her unknown counterpart vanish afterwards. "Girl" suggests that the greatest art is somehow both fragile and sturdy, sensitive and stubborn, and driven by a sensuality and desire perhaps never realized in the flesh. But in the end, as the camera contemplates the actual painting, art's glories seem worth life's pain. Griet, like Vermeer, sees more than others --and watching their movie, so do we.

Wonderful review, but Mikey seems to have missed someone... Almost all of the acting -- especially by Johansson, Wilkinson and Parfitt -- is superb as well: deeply imagined, crisp and lucid, with a touch of fire beneath. At least he wasn't singled out as a flaw. :-(

Colin being linked with the "cream of Hollywood celebrity?" If you have been too busy shopping to exchange any season's greetings, then how about a special message from the cream of Hollywood celebrity? At the Los Angeles premiere of fantasy epic 'Lord of the Rings: Return of the King', the actors, and director Peter Jackson, all had Christmas messages for their fans. Comic Billy Connolly and actors Sir Michael Caine and Colin Firth(he was there-ed?) wished everyone a Merry Christmas. http://www.itv.com/news/523184.html

Comic Billy Connolly and actors Sir Michael Caine and Colin Firth(he was there-ed?) wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Something he'd do with Will. Where are the pictures? Almost all of the acting -- especially by Johansson, Wilkinson and Parfitt -- is superb as well: deeply imagined, crisp and lucid, with a touch of fire beneath. I noticed that too. Has anyone written suberb acting by CF? A very Happy Christmas to all the firthettes.

(Moon Dreams)Has anyone written suberb acting by CF? GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING is an utter joy to watch. Based on the acclaimed novel about painter Johannes Vermeer, every frame of the film seems to radiate with the distinctive lighting and glorious colors of the 17th century Dutch Master. The enchanting Scarlett Johansson gives an inspired performance as Vermeer's chambermaid and Colin Firth is superb as the enigmatic painter. This is an astonishingly beautiful film that intelligently explores the life and work of a transcendent artist. :-)) Also a LA article from the Dorchester press event,Hugh being ever more himself.. http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1267&storyid=683121

..." explores the life and work of a transcendent artist." Hmmmmmm.... More like the life and work of the "transcendent" artist's maid. ...Sir Michael Caine and Colin Firth(he was there-ed?) wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Aw, it was probably Matthew Mondine;-)

I went in search of pictures and found this instead. This is my Christmas present to you. Go hear to hear Colin wish you a merry Christmas: http://www.itv.com/news/541120 Click on: 'Have a funky Christmas'

Here's the correct link: http://www.itv.com/news/541120.html

Excellent Moon! Thanks! He looks quite shy while saying it!

Colin's Christmas message appears to be from the LA GWAPE premiere and the clip is probably made up from many such events. The LOTR's LA prem was 12/3 and Colin was in London on 12/5 for that Women in Film to do. Have scanned and typed up the article Murph sent from American Cinematographer. Lovely pics and interesting text. Left out a few tech descriptions of filters, film stock, etc., here and there. Best thing is we now have visual proof of David Morrissey being in the film, and I liked how there was more of an emphasis on Vermeer and the character of Vermeer than on Griet. Here it is: http://www.firth.com/gwape_notes.html#lighting Thanks Mary!

(Eduardo Serra)"People shouldn?t leave the theater saying ?Every frame is a painting,?... Ooops, thatsa' me!! Peter Weber's lucky day is when he enlisted ES. That film wouldn't be as mesmerizing without him. What an artist.Thanks Murph and K. The photos are extraordinary. I recognized that forest scene from Wings of the Dove...as well as the canal scenes in Venice. I was one of the 10 people;-)who saw that jewel of a film on the big screen.

Best thing is we now have visual proof of David Morrissey being in the film, Where? You mean the guy on the right?

Yeah, that's him, on the right. The photo captions kind of ignore him too (LOL!) They just say: "The dutiful Griet tries to ignore another interested party in the Vermeer home." Most of the other pics will mention the actor's name. When he hit that cutting room floor, he hit it hard. ;-)

Did anyone, by any chance, tape this morning's BBC America's Talking Movies interview with a-# Tom B.introduction? If so pl. email me. I'll trade with Sundance tonight.

Interesting take on GWAPE, especially in regards to Colin, from Karina Montgomery of CINERINA http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1128236/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=5&rid=1232574 If you have not read Tracy Chevalier's novel... you will probably come out of Girl with a Pearl Earring thinking, "wow, sexual attraction does good things to artists..." This does a disservice to the film for its audience. ...the core issue of the desperation of the main character, Griet (Scarlett Johansson) seems to be missing. In addition, the powerful presence (even in his absence) of the artist himself in his household and in the thrumming panic of Griet's difficult existence in a papist home leaves out whole chunks of vital character.... To be fair, you don't cast Vermeer with someone as hot as Colin Firth (with long, fierce hair, oh my word!) and have him skulking about in another room, making Griet tremble with fear, heavens no. No doubt the psychological layers of the book are too difficult to portray when keeping our stars apart, but to reduce their relationship to a crush or to physical attraction is just plain old demeaning to the story... Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom) and Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later) and Judy Parfitt (Ever After) circle around Johansson, each with their own brand of torment, but she is most affected by Vermeer. The film touches on how they actually do connect but it is difficult to fully understand the constraints and religious differences of the period with so little assistance from the screenplay. Poor Scarlett is turning into the older-man-asexual-object-of-longing poster child of 2003 (see Lost in Translation); but she is establishing herself as more than just a bee-stung lipped ninnyhammer with aplomb. It's worth seeing for the scenes with her and Firth, but please read the book before you pass judgement on Ms. Chevalier. Though a negative review, it's kinda nice that it criticizes Colin for being TOO sexy .

Karen - re American Cinematographer -- Glad I could be of help. You did a great job on the article. I particularly love the winter scene -and the candlelight dinner. Most interesting.

Here's Ebert's print review: GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING / **** December 26, 2003 BY ROGER EBERT Sun-Times Film Critic 'Girl With a Pearl Earring" is a quiet movie, shaken from time to time by ripples of emotional turbulence far beneath the surface. It is about things not said, opportunities not taken, potentials not realized, lips unkissed. All of these elements are guessed at by the filmmakers as they regard a painting made in about 1665 by Johannes Vermeer. The painting shows a young woman regarding us over her left shoulder. She wears a simple blue headband and a modest smock. Her red lips are slightly parted. Is she smiling? She seems to be glancing back at the moment she was leaving the room. She wears a pearl earring. Not much is known about Vermeer, who left about 35 paintings. Nothing is known about his model. You can hear that it was his daughter, a neighbor, a tradeswoman. You will not hear that she was his lover, because Vermeer's household was under the iron rule of his mother-in-law, who was vigilant as a hawk. The painting has become as intriguing in its modest way as the Mona Lisa. The girl's face turned toward us from centuries ago demands that we ask, who was she? What was the thinking? What was the artist thinking about her? Tracy Chevalier's novel speculating about the painting has now been filmed by Peter Webber, who casts Scarlett Johansson as the girl and Colin Firth as Vermeer. I can think of many ways the film could have gone wrong, but it goes right, because it doesn't cook up melodrama and romantic intrigue but tells a story that's content with its simplicity. The painting is contemplative, reflective, subdued, and the film must be, too: We don't want lurid revelations breaking into its mood. Sometimes two people will regard each other over a gulf too wide to ever be bridged, and know immediately what could have happened, and that it never will. That is essentially the message of "Girl with a Pearl Earring." The girl's name is Griet, according to this story. She lives nearby. She is sent by her blind father to work in Vermeer's house, where several small children are about to be joined by a new arrival. The household is run like a factory with the mother-in-law, Maria Thins (Judy Parfitt) as foreman. She has set her daughter to work producing babies while her son-in-law produces paintings. Both have an output of about one a year, which is good if you are a mother, but not if you are a painter. Nobody ever says what they think in this house, except for Maria, whose thoughts are all too obvious, anyway. Catharina (Essie Davis), Vermeer's wife, sometimes seems to be standing where she hopes nobody will see her. It becomes clear that Griet is intelligent in a natural way, but has no idea what to do with her ideas. Of course she attracts Vermeer's attention; she's a hard worker and responds instinctively to the manual labor of painting -- to the craft, the technique, the strategy, even the chemistry (did you know that the color named Indian yellow is distilled from the urine of cows fed on mango leaves?). In one flawless sequence, Griet is alone in Vermeer's studio and looks at the canvas he is working on, looks at what he is painting, looks back, looks forth, and then moves a chair away from a window. When he returns and sees what she has done, he studies the composition carefully and removes the chair from his painting. Eventually he has her move up to the attic, closer to his studio, where she can mix his paints, which she does very well. And then of course they start sleeping together? Not in this movie. Vermeer has a rich patron named Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson). If Vermeer is too shy to reveal feelings for his maid, Van Ruijven is not. He wants a painting of the girl. This of course would be unacceptable to Catharina Vermeer, whose best-developed quality is her insecurity -- but it is not unacceptable to her mother, who must keep a rich patron happy. Thus Griet becomes a model. There is a young man in the town, Pieter (Cillian Murphy), a butcher's apprentice, who is attracted to Griet. He would make her a good husband, in this world where status and opportunity are assigned by caste. Griet likes him. It's not that she likes Vermeer more; indeed, she's so intimidated she barely speaks to the artist. It's that -- well, Griet could never be a butcher, but she could be a painter. Mankind has Shakespeares who were illiterate, Mozarts who never heard a note, painters who never touched a brush. Griet could be a painter. Whether a good or bad one, she will never know. Vermeer senses it. The moments of greatest intimacy between the simple peasant girl and the famous artist come when they sit side by side in wordless communication, mixing paints, both doing the same job, both understanding it. Do not believe those who think this movie is about the "mystery" of the model, or Vermeer's sources of inspiration, or medieval gender roles, or whether the mother-in-law was the man in the family. A movie about those things would have been a bad movie. "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is about how they share a professional understanding that neither one has in any way with anyone else alive. I look at the painting and I realize that Griet is telling Vermeer, without using any words, "Well, if it were my painting, I'd have her stand like this."

Pretty bad one from Metro, a Silicon Valley paper: Pretty as a Picture: Scarlett Johansson models (and more) for Dutch artist Vermeer in 'Girl With a Pearl Earring.' Veils of Decorum 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' brings Vermeer's famous painting to life By Richard von Busack SINCE IT'S BOTH swank and snoozy, Girl With a Pearl Earring can't be saved even by its genuine beauty. Scarlett Johansson of Lost in Translation stars as Griet, the model for the famed Johannes Vermeer painting from which this film has taken its title. In Holland, in the city of Delft, in the mid-1600s, Griet becomes a servant in the crowded, spying household of the master artist. Vermeer (Colin Firth) is bedeviled, caught between his pregnant and jealous wife on the one hand and the whims of his art patron, a coarse burgher named Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson), on the other. Griet is not blind to art. Her father was an artisan who made Delft's famous tiles before he was disabled in an accident. Vermeer understands the young girl's covert interest in him. He teaches her how to mix pigments and returns her unspoken fascination by ordering her (imperiously) to model for him. Johansson carries herself well as a simple girl, but was ever a girl that simple? Girl With a Pearl Earring bears a strange eroticism: the key moment of indiscretion has Griet unwinding her head cloth and revealing her hair to a man. This is followed by the suggestive scene of her flinching as she has her ear pierced for the first time. (The movie would fit right in with the short-lived modesty craze of a few years ago.) When was the last time we had a European film that placed all the errogenous zones above the neck? As such, Girl With a Pearl Earring provides one explanation for the gaze in the well-known painting: the veils of decorum have parted, and an instant of longing is shining through. The film is well appointed but juiceless; even the carnage of a butcher shop seems quaintly arranged, as in the paintings of the time. Because the Dutch Republic was an era when money talked almost as loudly as it does today, it would have been fun if Wilkinson had seasoned the role of the boorish patron with a little more insinuation. If his dark money and wicked ways seemed spicy against the rigorous morals of the day, the film could have shown a little more tension in the most basic kind of romance. In the part of the genius, Firth seems wise enough, but unfortunately his long floppy hair makes him resemble Steve Zahn at his most miffed. The actor is a lighter romantic lead than some directors suspect. With its stilted dialogue, written in the familiar international style of Merchant/Ivory ("You're not the first to forget your manners in front of one of his paintings"), the cast of Englishmen and Americans in the lead roles deracinates the picture worse than the English and Australian stars in Cold Mountain. Insisting that we look at a painting as staged by actors in a tableau vivant is the opposite of the pleasure we experience in a museum gallery--of wandering, until one particular picture seizes us. This film, as well as Jon Jost's All the Vermeers in New York, suggests that the early death and subsequent obscurity of Vermeer may be more enticing than what's in the frame. Is this fascination with Vermeer like the old-time worship of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, rendered dead in all but the corniest movies, such as Mona Lisa Smile?

Kudos to Roger Ebert for an intelligent review(I like that last phrase ,"Well, if it were my painting,I'd have her stand like this"-puts it on an entirely different level), and Bah! Humbug! to Richard von Bus*ck! Thanks, Karen-always on the job.....

Thanks for the reviews Karen. Oh the ups and downs...;-))

Anyone see Firth on ET earlier this evening?

I didn't see ET, Terry--was he interviewed? Wow, 4 stars from Roger Ebert--great! Pretty bad one from Metro, a Silicon Valley paper Never heard of it. Probably a freebie, and a weekly one at that. Not all reviews are created equal, folks.;-) Here's one from a real newspaper. Sexual tension meets timeless art 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' explores Vermeer's family dynamics Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, December 26, 2003 A shrewish wife suspects her husband of hanky-panky with the housekeeper. The discovery of a portrait he surreptitiously painted of the girl provides damning evidence. "It's obscene,'' the wife shrieks, going ballistic as she notes the coup de grace -- her own prized earring dangling from the subject's ear. More than four centuries later, "The Girl With a Pearl Earring,'' a masterpiece from the brush of Johannes Vermeer, would hardly strike anyone as obscene. But look again at the sensuous parting of the model's moist lips and her come-hither gaze, and you may sympathize with Mrs. Vermeer. The Vermeer family dynamics are a conceit of Tracy Chevalier's best- selling novel, which has been made into the provocative "Girl With a Pearl Earring'' (the introductory "the'' in the painting's title evidently deemed too much of a mouthful for movie audiences). Like the book, the film focuses on the fictional teenage maid, Griet. Scarlett Johansson plays her with a palpable feeling for what it's like to be on the brink of sexual awakening -- "ripe as a plum,'' in the words of Vermeer's lecherous art dealer. Johansson (who's having quite a year with this film and "Lost in Translation") shows a notable lack of vanity, going through "Girl'' with no apparent makeup and her hair covered by a scarf. She bears a startling resemblance to the painting's anonymous sitter. Vermeer doesn't appear until a third of the way through, bursting into his noisy household in Delft (his wife was perennially pregnant, which may have accounted for her foul moods) and anxiously searching for a modicum of quiet. Since the artist left no searing self-portraits, Colin Firth in a pageboy has an easier time convincing us he's Vermeer than Kirk Douglas did when he took on van Gogh. Painstakingly slathering paint on canvas, Firth displays the intensity of a great artist. Vermeer's legion of enthusiastic fans may wish there had been more conjecture about his miraculous ability to turn simple household scenes into timeless art. The movie offers tantalizing glimpses of the leaded glass windows, rich mosaic fabrics and cobbled streets immortalized in his work. But the only painterly moments come with the creation of "The Girl With a Pearl Earring'' -- an anomaly for Vermeer because it features a single face against a sea of black instead of the detailed settings for which he's famous. Director Peter Webber is at his best in the scene of Griet posing. It's tightly woven (displaying Webber's roots as a film editor), as the camera moves back and forth from Vermeer assessing his model to her trying to comprehend his expectations. Nothing overtly sexual happens, but incendiary looks pass between them. To fit her with the pearl earrings, Vermeer must first pierce her ears with a hot needle. Griet passionately cries out, as if her virginity had been taken. He instructs her to wet her lips, smoothing them over with his fingers. When Vermeer finishes with her, Griet runs to her young boyfriend, portrayed with gusto by rising hunk Cillian Murphy. The implication is that the sitting has aroused her, and she expects him to do something about it. And he does. He fulfills her as a woman, but it's Vermeer who makes her immortal.

(Mari) Not all reviews are created equal, folks.;-) True, true. When I looked for the Chronicle's review, all I found was a one paragraph synopsis. They must have put it up later. Thanks, though I'm not sure Ruthe knows what a 'pageboy' is or remembers too many of the particulars of the film. ;-)

Anyone see Anatomy of a Scene on Sundance?

I watched it. They focused mostly on the banquet scene. Lots of VanR. Vermeer says maybe 3 words. I can tell I'm going to really really like this movie.;-) They talked a bit about trying to approximate a "candlelight only" look. Recreating the lead glass. Photographing the servant scenes in blues and vivid colors, and then softening everything to ambers for the family scenes. Last month's episode on The Cooler was better, IMO.

(Mari) Vermeer says maybe 3 words. I can tell I'm going to really really like this movie.;-) Well, he doesn't really say much in that scene anyway. Those three words are about it. The scene focuses on Mama trying to get son-in-law another commission. From the third Chicago paper (albeit a freebie, this guy is major and serious); it only got a capsule review but by the main guy: Capsule by Jonathan Rosenbaum From the Chicago Reader A greeting card disguised as a historical drama about Jan Vermeer and his 17th-century Dutch milieu. Scarlett Johansson plays Grete, a 16-year-old domestic in the household of the dashing young painter (Colin Firth), who sublimates his feelings for her into his painting. The maid is lit like a Vermeer portrait even when she isn't posing or mixing his paints, which reduces his art to photo-realism and undercuts the reverence accorded to him as a sacred visionary. The period detail is more vibrant than the minimal story (adapted by Olivia Hetreed from Tracy Chevalier's novel), which includes Grete's romance with a butcher's assistant. Tom Wilkinson plays Vermeer's patron as a lascivious ogre. Peter Webber, a first-timer, directed. 99 min. (JR)