What keeps Webber's movie alive is the tenseness of the setup (will this girl stay in the artist's household, and, if so, will she become his lover or his muse?), and, above all, the presence of Johansson.

| May 10, 2021

[A] satisfying, provocative film.

| Jan 29, 2020

A visually stunning masterpiece with the beauty and elegance of a single perfect pearl.

| Nov 7, 2019

Little happens -- save for several family arguments and the artist worrying about money and the integrity of his ambition -- yet it is unforgettable, and, shot to look like a moving Vermeer painting, effortlessly profound.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 14, 2017

Older teens and adults will enjoy. Book is better.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 24, 2010

The film is an intriguing speculative account of the creation of one of Vermeer's most famous and sensual paintings. Every shot in the film looks like it was taken right out of a painting from Delft, Holland circa 1665...

| Original Score: B+ | May 9, 2009

The movie benefits greatly from Johansson's gift for understated delivery, but she's less assured in this demure, largely non-verbal role than she was as a modern young woman in Ghost World and Lost in Translation.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jun 3, 2008

An entertaining but inauthentic adaptation, a production which reads more like a Hollywood teensploit than a historical epic from Holland.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 25, 2007

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 1, 2006

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Mar 5, 2005

... a movie about a kind of understanding that rarely passes between human beings; a solemn, sacred meeting of minds.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jan 10, 2005

Girl with the Pearl Earring is about the liberating and inspiring experience of being seen.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Dec 6, 2004

Like the finest of Vermeer's paintings, the film's richly textured elements blend perfectly, unforgettably framed.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Oct 14, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Oct 7, 2004

Girl gives us a vividly painted world but only patchily drawn characters - in that sense, it gets Vermeer only half right

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 30, 2004

A fascinating concept that loses its luster on screen.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 13, 2004

Girl with a pearl earring (...) is a movie of few words and beautiful pictures, and the story is as understated as the acting.

| Aug 7, 2004

A terrifically realised film, startlingly emotional and wonderfully visceral.

Full Review | Original Score: 82/100 | Jul 20, 2004

Scarlett Johansson, 19, has a matureness beyond her years.

| Original Score: 3.5 | Jun 22, 2004

To watch Girl With a Pearl Earring is to sense that one great photograph after another is unfolding before the eyes.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 14, 2004