A film that not only brought Marvel star Scarlett Johansson worldwide fame at a young age, but also a cat, is currently available to stream – even without a subscription.
Today, Marvel star Scarlett Johansson is world famous as Marvel’s Black Widow. However, her career began with child roles such as The Horse Whisperer and only took off in the early 2000s. You can currently stream one of her best films, which proved her star qualities back in 2003, for free: The Girl with the Pearl Earring.
Now streaming for free: Scarlett Johansson as The Girl with the Pearl Earring
Based on the book by Tracy Chevalier, the film The Girl with the Pearl Earring traces the genesis of the painting of the same name by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth): in the mid-17th century, the artist finds inspiration in the young peasant maid Griet (Scarlett Johansson) for a painting that is to become his most famous work. But his wife does not miss his fascination with her husband’s new muse.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring
Since Scarlett Johansson was nowhere near the star she is today, she was one of 150 actresses who auditioned with Peter Webber to be cast as the Girl with the Pearl Earring. In the end, the director chose her because “she just stood out. There was something distinctive about her”. He wanted her modern charisma and intelligence to shine out behind the role of the downtrodden maid. So Scarlett Johansson was cast first, even before her male co-star Colin Firth and other actors such as Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer).
You can stream The Girl with the Pearl Earring for free in the ARD-Mediathek until 26 June 2023. The film is also included in the MagentaTV Megathek and you can find it streaming in the Arthouse Channel on Amazon *.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring gave Scarlett Johansson a career and a cat
Beyond humans, several animals make appearances in The Girl with the Pearl Earring. Scarlett Johansson fell in love with one of the set cats and named her “Merkin” (which is the English word for a pubic wig). As a result, the film crew went to great lengths to make it possible for the actress to adopt the animal and take it home to New York City from Luxembourg.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring
Beyond a cat, the role brought the then 17-year-old Scarlett Johansson (coinciding with the film Lost in Translation, released the same year) great fame and catapulted her career forward. Even though she later criticised being stylised as an “object of desire” in subsequent film offers.
Scarlett Johansson can next be seen in the cinema in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City and will appear in the films My Mother’s Wedding and Project Artemis.
