Intriguing Vermeer an Underdeveloped Portrait
In all honesty, I am not quite sure I get all the fuss and acclaim for the documentary Tim’s Vermeer. Do I respect it? Certainly. Filmed over an eight year period, following inventor and visionary tech wizard Tim Jenison (it’s doubtful the Desktop Revolution – look it up – would have happened like it did without him) on a supremely unusual creative and intellectual quest, it isn’t like the darn thing is lacking in ambition. I just didn’t end up finding all that much of interest in the watching of it from start to finish, and I can’t exactly say I felt like I had a solid understanding of why any of this mattered, let alone why I was supposed to care, by the time the journey came to an end.
At its most basic, the film is an attempt on Jenison’s part to figure out how Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer – “The Girl with the Pearl Earring” is arguably his most recognized work – achieved his singular creations. The inventor is obsessed with deciphering how this 17th century master rendered his painting in such exquisite and intimate detail, how he was able to use light and shadow in such complicated, and by all accounts far ahead of its time, fashion. He journeys all over the world attempting to put the pieces of the puzzle together, in the end coming to the conclusion he manufactured machinery allowing for optical recreations of his chosen subjects unlike anything being attempted by any of his contemporaries.
Then comes the recreation. Jenison assembles his own version of the type of machine Vermeer might have used, utilizing tools and materials from the time period, to recreate one of the Dutch master’s most recognized works. Director Teller (yes, the magician who works with Penn Jillette) follows him throughout his quest, populating the film with interviews with scholars, researchers and Vermeer aficionados all curious to see if the Texas inventor will be successful.
Fine. Great. Wonderful. I get where this is all going. More than that, I can also see why someone so immersed in magic, showmanship and creativity like Teller would be so intrigued by Jenison’s pursuit. Problem was, for whatever reason, I had trouble being moved by anything that was going on.
More often than not I kept feeling like I was watching a very, very rich person with far too much time on his hands engage in a kind of role play and experimentation only the wealthy elite of his ilk could ever hope to engage in. On top of that, a lot of the realizations about imagination, innovation, inspiration and all the rest felt preordained, and I can’t say there was ever a moment or a statement from any of the talking heads populating the piece that ever caught me by complete surprise.
It is extremely well put together and assembled, I must give the film that, Teller having an exceptional eye for detail and his ability to pace what potentially could have been a disjointed, unfocused maze is sublime. At just around 80 minutes I was never bored by any of what was transpiring, and even though I’d have felt just as comfortable watching the film on PBS as theatrical experiences go I’ve certainly had a heck of a lot worse.
Be all that as it may, simply put, Tim’s Vermeer wasn’t for me. I get what it is saying and I fully understand the points and the ideas Teller was hoping to put across to the viewer, but for whatever reason none of them spoke to me as profoundly or as intimately as I’m sure he wanted them to. For many, this film will be as invigorating and as enchanting as many of the real paintings the Dutch legend painted during his lifetime. Unfortunately for me this just wasn’t the case, the film nothing more than a blank canvass patiently waiting for inspiration to fill its empty spaces.
Film Rating: 2.5 out of 4
Review reprinted courtesy of the SGN in Seattle
