Siti Adam

I had just watched the movie. An hour or so before that, I had just finished reading the book. There’s some pros and cons to the movie adaptation. 1. Firstly, it’s not a full adaptation of the novel. Some scenes are accurate like in the book, others not quite. 2. I was really interested in the movie after reading the acknowledgment from the author in her 20th anniversary copy (which was the one I had). I wasn’t paying too much attention at the author’s words so I had pictured Colin Ferrel and Amanda Seyfried during my whole two nights of reading the novel. It gave me such clear picture of the two main characters that I was quite stumped when I saw the movie. I cheered for Scarlett Johansson but was disappointed in Colin Firth. His sleazy character made me quite upset. 3. However, I was amazed to see a different perspective of Vermeer in the movie. He seemed like a fine gentleman in the novel but in the movie, he’s such a sleaze. But it made for such a truer reality then, during those times. 4. The main reason I decided to watch the movie was because I had wanted to have a proper visual of everything during those times. I needed to see how the mantle and chemises looked like, the studio perspective and the place it was set in. Everything in my mind was different as it would have and it was interesting to see how both varies. 5. I think reading the novel before watching the movie helps a lot. Especially those moments Griet looked like she was mouth breathing a lot. She did not come off as she should in the novel, which was quite disappointing. But overall, I appreciate the effort of the movie. It’s ok for a mindless watch. Not something that you should have a high expectation of.