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Hope for Vermeer arrives in the winsome form of a teenaged maid, Griet (Scarlett Johansson). The quiet but sensual Griet is temperamentally suited to the similar Vermeer. Soon, the two are spending quality time together in his painting studio, where she becomes a combination of understudy, model, and platonic special other.
But the heart-racing good times for Vermeer and Griet are threatened by the dual jealousy of Catharina and her bratty children. Worse yet, Van Ruijven obviously plans to turn Griet into a mistress, an act that the Vermeer family cannot afford to oppose.
How others will see it. Girl with a Pearl Earring is historical fiction. Vermeer, Van Ruijven, Catharina, Maria, etc. actually existed, although their characters as presented here are strictly a fanciful speculation. Vermeer is among the best regarded Dutch painters, but since he never cut his ear off, he'll never be as celebrated as Van Gogh.
Few if anyone at all will object to the transformance of the Vermeer household from a collection of names and birth and death dates into a costumed soap opera. Now that Scarlett Johansson is a household name, her films have interest beyond their own intrinsic quality. For this reason, let it be said that you never see anything but her face and hands, and even her hair is hidden from view for all but a few moments.
How I felt about it. This slow-moving and mildly erotic movie is told from Griet's perspective. She is, after all, the title character. Perhaps the film would have been even more interesting if it were told from Catharina or Vermeer's point of view. If Catharina were the central character, she could be the faithful wife whose place is threatened by the hot and vaguely sinister Griet. Vermeer could be the misunderstood artist surrounded by family members who see him strictly as a golden goose who doesn't lay enough eggs.
Instead we get clever but sexually repressed Johansson, who clearly sees Vermeer as a potential escape from her dreary routine of house servant chores. Because women are empowered in the 21st century films, this characteristic must extend all the way back to 1665, and so Griet is a natural as an artist's apprentice. Griet is unsurprisingly repulsed by the unseemly advances of Van Ruijven. But she only accepts Pieter as a suitor when Catharina's jealousy has become too strident for Griet to remain.