Girl with a Pearl Earring

Though I enjoyed watching this film again as part of my “Age of Claude” film series at the Clark, I have to admit that this was one of those rare films that was beyond the capacity of DVD (non-HD) and the Clark’s good but not great digital projector. The attention to light in this film required that special quality of being projected piercingly through celluloid, rather than splashed on the screen in an array of colored dots. So we didn’t do justice to Eduardo Serra’s cinematography, but the film’s other assets came through, most especially Scarlett Johanssen in the title role, a nearly silent but most telling performance. Colin Firth has a believably intense gaze as Vermeer, and the supporting cast is quite good as an ensemble. The set design and the intent quality of Peter Webber’s direction contributed to the visual feast, and conveyed a tangible sense of Delft in 1655. The pace is slow, the emotions surpressed and enigmatic for the most part, but if you’re of the sort who could be entertained by watching a painting dry, then you’ll enjoy this film, maybe even be moved by it. (2003, dvd, r.) *8* (MC-74.)