Prismark10
An adaptation of Jessie Burton's novel. The Miniaturist tells the story of Petronella Oortman (Anya Taylor-Joy) an 18 year old woman married off to a wealthy sugar merchant, Johannes Brandt (Alex Hassell.)She has moved from the provinces to the thriving city of Amsterdam and living in her husband's household run by her initially severe sister in law Marin (Romola Garai) which has two servants.The house seems to contain secrets, her husband is rather reluctant to be with her but he does give her a dollhouse as a wedding gift. Petronella furnishes the doll house with miniature replicas that arrive as gifts. The miniaturist making the dolls may have a second sight as her real life replicas seems to betray what is being remain hidden in the household or maybe she has just observed what was there all along in plain sight.Petronella tries to adapt to her new life, but she is doing so without her husband's love yet he is pleasant to her.The series was gloomily lit to reflect Nella' mood. The photography and art direction are inspired by a Vermeer or Rembrandt painting. The series was unsure whether it was a supernatural drama with shades of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca or a story of a young woman being defiant as the household's dark secrets unfold but it did feel unsatisfying.
friskyfeline-67586
It's as if Rembrandt and Vermeer have come to life. It's an engaging story beautifully told. I could go season 2.
Taxiridefan
I watched the first episode and became wrapped up in the mysteries that surround the house and its inhabitants, the Mysterious Miniaturist and how they seemed to know everything that was going on within those walls. Then we get to the second episode and what do we get? Two characters are dead, there really was no big mystery to the Miniaturist, she was just observant and life will just go on. No mystery, no intrigue, just a flat ending.
Watching this was like going to the symphony where it builds up to this huge crescendo and the end is someone blowing a party whistle.
There was no point to any of it.
Adriaan
Often people lament that a movie was not like the book that preceded it. For those people, this movie must be like a godsend. It follows the book religiously. And due to this, it falls flat. It is one way to build up tension in a written story, but using that exactly same build-up rarely works on screen. With more liberty to mold the plot to fit the screen, this could really have been a good mini-series.
AD
