re:mote voices

Title: Girl with a Pearl Earring
Cast: Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson, Judy Parfitt, Cillian Murphy, Essie Davis, Joanna Scanlan, Alakina Mann
Director: Peter Webber

judging by the film version of tracey chevalier's novel, her exploration of the painting by vermeer which shows a girl with a pearl has less of a lovecraftian influence than the most recent novel by russell hoban that i read - the medusa frequency has a couple of references to vermeer's painting, including the protagonist going off in search of the actual item. in fact previous editions of the medusa frequency actually pictured the painting itself as a cover. this was just one of the recent references i was conscious of while watching this film adaptation of a novel which speculates on the history of a painting and painter, which apparently little is known.

the film is set in the dutch city of delft, in the year 1665, the titular girl is played by scarlett johansen. a young protestant girl from a family fallen on hard times, such that she is forced to become a maid to a well off catholic family. the religious tensions are fairly understated, as is the political status of the netherlands of the time. however that time period puts it not too long before the events in the first volume of neal stephenson's quicksilver - which includes a section set in the netherlands - so to hold the images from the film as interpretation of that period is an interesting thing to do. as is to recall the fact that the netherlands were at war seemingly constantly with france or britain.

another aspect of a girl with a pearl earring which draws parallel's with quicksilver, is the way vermeer is depicted as practically a practicing chemist in the way that he has to mix all his own paints. this draws a slight parallel with waterhouse and his experiences with the natural philosophers, and the thin line between scientist and alchemist. while at the same time there is the idea that artists like vermeer would have been not that different from the members of the royal society - both needing patrons willing to fund their explorative endeavours.

another recent parallel that struck me while watching this film, was the discussion on indian yellow, how it was derived from the urine of cows fed exclusively on mango - a fact which also came up in chuck palahniuk's diary. the main character in that novel was a former painting, and as part of her diary she refers to how classical painters would have mixed their paints, and the side effects the chemicals inherent in that process would have affected them. which gave another insight into the character of vermeer, his moods and sudden temper could be explained by ingestion of a whole range of pharmaceuticals as a side effect of his art.

a last connection for this film for now was the action of it as a scarlett johansen double bill. a girl with a pearl earring was advertised extensively in trailer form, accompanied by the trailer for lost in translation. a film which i saw at last the night before catching this film. johansen is fairly central in both, though her ability is more evident perhaps in a pearl earring than translation, the quivering uncertainty and trepidation of a young girl who finds herself at the bottom rung of a household. though perhaps the better performances are not delivered by johansen and colin firth who plays vermeer, but rather the actress who plays vermeer's wife (filled with jealousy and hurt), his daughter (a spiteful brat, continually glancing daggers in johansen's direction), and the mother-in-law (severe and uptight).