It�s quite hard to review this film. It is a truly beautiful work of art, echoing the work of the painter Vermeer that is found throughout the film, but nothing really happens and there is very little dialogue. The film carries on at a sedate pace and the hour and forty minutes passes slowly, though I do not think it is time wasted by any means. I have not read the book on which the film is based, but I got the sense that it follows it quite closely, confirmed by my mother who has read it. It explains a lot of the episodes where the main character, Griet, is simply looking at something silently. Scarlett Johansson who plays Griet is fantastic in the film, acting with sensitivity and feeling whilst Colin Firth�s Vermeer glories in his work and all that relates to it. Also on the wonderful acting chart is one of the Vermeer�s children, Cornelia, played by Alakina Mann, who actually made my skin cruel in her vindictive behavior towards Griet on behalf of her jealous mother.