Rarely, maybe twice or thrice in the past half century, do you get a movie centered about the 17th century Netherlands Golden Age of sciences, trade & the arts. Is it historically 100% accurate? No, but there was more than enough to give you some sense of the times. The film is centered around an Amsterdam trading household dealing in sugar (an appropriate hook for our times) in which our head male takes a young wife. The movie allows us to understand those times by looking though the eyes of our female lead which not coincidentally was going through female related issues similar to today. Yes, some females then were expressing independence. The households in those days were like little fortresses of protection from authoritarian adjudication. Especially religious turmoil between Protestants & Catholics.
The plot has a touches of thriller, layered intrigue, and mysticism. Again, a contemporary look/tone into the turmoils of that society.
The producer & director went to extraordinary lengths to make the sets, setting background, makeup, costumes, props (even the paintings on walls, and abundant mood fixing candle light) all period accurate. Most remarkable were the miniatures as proxies to our characters even to the clothing on these porcelain peoples.
Acting, was engaging, especially Anya Taylor-Joy, who fittingly looks like she modeled for the Dutch painter Vermeer's painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring".
The plot has a touches of thriller, layered intrigue, and mysticism. Again, a contemporary look/tone into the turmoils of that society.
The producer & director went to extraordinary lengths to make the sets, setting background, makeup, costumes, props (even the paintings on walls, and abundant mood fixing candle light) all period accurate. Most remarkable were the miniatures as proxies to our characters even to the clothing on these porcelain peoples.
Acting, was engaging, especially Anya Taylor-Joy, who fittingly looks like she modeled for the Dutch painter Vermeer's painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring".