A peasant girl is forced to leave her poverty stricken family to become the maid in the household of Johannes Vermeer, the noted painter. Vermeer is struggling to find a subject for his next masterpiece and he finds himself captivated by the new maid.

Griet, played by Scarlett Johansson, is forced to leave her family as they cannot support her. She takes up the position of maid in the home of the great painter Johannes Vermeer, played by Colin Firth. As Griet goes about learning her new duties, Vermeer is putting the finishing touches to his latest painting, which has been commissioned by a rich local gentleman named Van Ruijven, played by Tom Wilkinson, who people might not recognise as Gerald from The Full Monty. One of Griet's duties is to buy the families meat from the local butchers, and through this she becomes friendly with the butchers son Pieter, played by Cillian Murphy. He is immediately taken by her, and she seems grateful for the attention.

The family prepare a grand meal to celebrate the birth of a new family member, and also to provide Van Ruijven with a chance to view his latest aquisition. He confirms that the painting is more than satisfied with the masterpiece. The good news of the imminant payment for the painting is immediately forgotten when Ruijven announces that he has commissioned someone else for his next painting. This is a bombshell for the family, who rely on Ruijven to purchase Vermeer's work, and so to support the family.

Girl With A Pearl Earring is based on the book of the same name, written by Tracy Chevalier and released in 2000. The book tells the fictional story behind the real painting, also titled Girl With A Pearl Earring. Much of the film is filmed in tiny Dutchtown of Delft, where the real Riujven lived. They also built a large set, and used part of a set built to look like Venice for the film Secret Passage. The film is very beautifully shot. It combines the dull colourless world of the poor maids, with the brighter, bolder rich surroundings of the well off. The attention to detail is excellent in the composition of sets. The lighting of scenes is also excellent, and the scene where Ruijven arrives at the house for the viewing is simply stunning.

Without a commission from Ruijven, Vermeer is struggling to find a subject for his next painting, but finds interest in Griet. He becomes obsessed by her, watching her as she goes about her cleaning duties. She also demonstrates an interest and knowledge of Art, and he starts to involve her in his work. He teaches her about the composition of colours, and shows her how to mix his paints for him. The two of them begin to spend more and more time together in his study, much to the displeasure of his wife.

This film is all about the interactions of the characters, across sex and across class. As such, we simple watch the relationships develop, inparticular those between Griet and the two men from such diffent worlds. The scene is slowly set in which the portrait is painted. The film tells a beautiful story behind the painting, but it loses something when you consider that in fact almost all of its is ficticous. In many ways this is a typical period drama, all be it a very good example. It is a very slow, but deep character piece. As such, I expect only fans of period dramas will choose to watch this, and therefore most people who watch this will be very satisfied indeed.

Mark: 6/10
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