Girl With A Pearl Earring

Now that's more like it. A film which exceded my expectations tenfold. The British trailer made it look like a sentimental love story and nothing more, but this is a finely crafted study of passion, repression and humanity I highly recommend. The detail is immaculate, each frame is a painting in itself; the use of light and framing, combined with costume, very impressive acting and a patient script all combine to make a genuinely moving piece that surpasses a narrow minded chick-flick tag. Following up on Lost In Translation, Scarlet Johansson delivers a completely different yet equally impressive performance, and Colin Firth does what he does very well - be quiet, intense and standoffish, yet vulnerable and deep. The score deserves a mention too - it hightened the mood perfectly; a beautiful central theme is right up there with the classics. If in two minds as to whether this is your COT give it a try, because I had avoided it for ages and now can't wait to see it again. 9/10 Kx