The BBC Drama Unit Does Holland

My first movie as a member of the Singapore Film Society was Girl With a Pearl Earring. It's a visually flawless period drama, and thanks to Eduardo Serra's skillful cinematography every frame literally looks like a Dutch 16-17th century painting. It gets uncanny very quickly.

The lacklustre characterisation helps reinforce the impression that the film is really a succession of paintings with some commentary on the side -- kind of like a play in a museum. Colin Firth's Vermeer spends all his time looking dark, brooding and angsty like a frustrated pirate. Tom Wilkinson tries really hard not to let Van Ruijven slide into Taiwanese-drama-serial villainy. Johansson in the lead role acquits herself well, and I liked Essie Davis treading a fine neurotic line as the high-strung Catharina.

For more information on the real painting, here's an in-depth study with lots of links.