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You're not likely to find a stronger contrast in a portrait of womanhood than watching Monster and Girl with a Pearl Earring. The former stars Charlize Theron as real-life prostitute-cum-lesbian-cum-serial killer Aileen Wuornos. The latter stars Scarlett Johansson as a pseudo-fictional maid-cum-painting subject. Theron is a force of nature with enough dental makeup and stringy hair to hide her movie-star good looks. Johansson might be even more radiant than usual, with Eduardo Serra's brilliant cinematography bathing her in a golden glow. It's not exactly Hollywood's binary of whore and virgin, but it's close.

This time of year, when the various critics groups get together to vote for their awards, is always a reminder of how Hollywood treats its actresses. While the potential Best Actor possibilities run off the page (I don't have room for Ed Harris?!), we struggle to find even five actresses worthy of nomination. And those that we do select usually fall into the same categories: faithful wife waiting for her man (think Cold Mountain), quirky artist type (think The Hours), brassy woman who finally stands up for herself (think Erin Brockovich), or the old standbys of prostitute and virgin. One of the reasons Johansson's performance in Lost in Translation has received so much attention is that she portrays an every-day young woman who's surprisingly normal.

Yet, I'd argue that her performance in Girl with a Pearl Earring is even stronger. She plays a young woman named Griet, who's forced to work when her father dies. She takes a position as a maid at the house of the painter Vermeer (Colin Firth), where she does her best to avoid attention. But Vermeer, who has both a painterly and a wandering eye, spies Griet's beauty even with her hair in rags. Griet, who has a painterly eye of her own (her father was an artist), immediately takes to Vermeer's works in progress. Enchanted, Vermeer shows her how to mix paints (a wonderful scene) and even finds a way to have her model for him, despite his wife's justifiable jealousy.

The film is extrapolated from Vermeer's famous painting of the same title. It imagines how he painted it and what his relationship might have been with the model. As befitting a movie taking place in 17th-century Holland, the passion is of the slow-burn quality. Colin Firth seems a little out of place as a lusting but reserved artist. Johansson, though, is absolutely exquisite. She may have few lines of dialogue, but her demeanor is so riveting we can't take our eyes off her. She struggles with whether to give in to Vermeer's advances or to save herself for the local butcher's apprentice, and we hang on every moment. This is a costume drama with real energy. And the scenes near the end, when she sits for Vermeer, are simply stunning. There's one moment where she does nothing but lick her lips that should be remembered come Oscar time.

Even better than Johansson is the spectacular cinematography. Serra has achieved what I thought was impossible--making a film look like a painting, and a Vermeer painting at that. The lighting is absolutely exquisite, both in the dark, candle-lit rooms and the airy studio. An early scene at a table captures the feel of a still life, and the later sequences of Vermeer painting Griet embody Vermeer's actual painting. Girl with a Pearl Earring is a film that explores the nature of beauty at its very core.

Monster is anything but beautiful. Ostensibly based on the real-life story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, it's a sordid tale that describes how Wuornos came to kill six men. Given that the film tells it through Wuornos's eyes, the movie makes her somewhat sympathetic, but maybe that's an understandable, if equally unbalanced, corrective to the vitriol heaped upon her before her execution. We see Wuornos in her teenage years, hoping to be "discovered." Then we jump forward to see her as an adult getting in and out of the back seats of cars, and being beaten for her troubles.

The pivotal moment comes when she meets Selby Wall (Christina Ricci) in a bar. Wall is strait-laced young woman struggling with her lesbian desires. Wuornos doesn't go that way (as the saying goes), but she's desperate for any real affection. It's the first time Wuornos has ever experienced anything close to true love, and she hangs on like a cornered mountain lion. The two run away together, which is problematic since Wuornos's "tricks" are their only source of income. But then Wuornos gets the idea to turn the tables on her johns--beat them up before they can do the same to her, and then rob them. It's the sort of plan that makes sense if you're living day-to-day, but it's obviously doomed to fail.

Theron has received a great deal of acclaim for her performance, with Roger Ebert even calling it one of the best of all time. I'll chalk that up to Roger being in an especially good mood that day. Not that Charlize isn't great, but she's not *that* great. It's similar to the acclaim Catherine Zeta-Jones received last year and Halle Berry the year before. We didn't realize they had it in them. When the pretty face actually turns out to be a competent actress, critics get down and genuflect. Theron has this fantastic fidgetiness about her, but by the end of the movie we've seen that stunt enough. Christina Ricci is just as good in her smaller role. It's not as flashy, but it's just as compelling.

Unfortunately, writer and director Patty Jenkins isn't as solid. The storyline is predictable, even for people who don't know the real events. The only tension comes from wondering if and when Theron and Ricci will actually jump in the sack together. When they do, it's shot like a soft-core porn film, complete with embarrassing wah-wah guitar. Maybe Theron is getting all the acclaim because she actually rises above this.

Monster is a flashier film and, therefore, one more likely to get the media's attention. And it certainly features two fine performances. But Girl with a Pearl Earring is the real deal, with an amazing portrayal by Scarlett Johansson and beautiful direction to back it up.   

J. Robert Parks  1/17/2004

Girl with a Pearl Earring 
Monster