Charles Taylor, a writer and movie critic I often agree with, published a rather bad review of The Girl with a Peal Earring in Salon today.
He didn’t like the book it was based on, which probably didn’t help. It’s also funny to see that he wished for more physical interaction between the main characters, when that’s exactly what I feared (not in general, just in this specific movie…):
This Vermeer is a gent, saving Griet from the attentions of his slimy patron (Tom Wilkinson), and never letting his own ardor for her trespass into the physical realm (the movie would have been a hell of a lot better if it had), sticking to their understanding about light and color.
Can’t a relationship be based on a mutual understanding about light and color? Can’t desire arise from a pure aesthete connection? No, no, I’m not a romantic, I’m an idealist…
