The TV miniseries based on the homonymous novel by Jessie Burton arrives on Sky and NOW. In the lead role Anya Taylor-Joy, already famous for The Queen of Chess. A historical thriller in a gray and unedited Amsterdam, a gem not to be missed.
The miniseries Il Miniaturista, based on the successful book of the same name written by Jessie Burton, has landed on Sky and NowTV since 11 January. Three dense and suspenseful episodes, in a historical thriller so unmissable, that it is still recovered today by Italian frequencies, despite the fact that the broadcast in the United Kingdom had already taken place in 2017.
Protagonist Needs no Introduction
The protagonist needs no introduction: Anya Taylor-Joy is famous for her performance in the Queen of Chess. Here, however, she plays the role of a naive eighteen-year-old, Petronella Oortman, forced to marry a wealthy man older than her, Johannes Brandt (Alex Hassell), to pay off her family’s debts.
Her man doesn’t deserve attention, it seems that she has locked her in a sort of gilded prison, a beautiful and dark house, in which everything is understated and hidden. It is as if it were a glass object, for display and never central.
However, everything changes when Johannes gives her a miniature reproduction of their house. Strange things begin to happen. The craftsman begins to send accessories for the small house, but they are far from harmless because they anticipate events that will eventually happen.
So, for Petronella, everything focuses on discovering the identity of the Miniaturist. Why does he know? Why does he let her know?
The irruption of this figure and of his mystery breaks that glass curtain made of setting, severity and silence that floods the Brandt family.
Shot in Leiden, the Netherlands, but set in the 17th-century Dutch capital, Amsterdam appears as a motionless, colorless spectator – a far cry from what we know today. A reality that rejects and disenchants. The light is in continuous struggle with the shadow, in a “duel” that takes place decidedly between several floors, closed between several walls.
The mastery is not only in the choices of the director, Guillem Morales. The miniseries remains memorable for its impressive photography (entrusted to Gavin Finney) which, on several occasions, recalls the static beauty of Flemish paintings.
The author took inspiration for the fascinated story from an exhibition she saw in Amsterdam, at the Rijksmuseum. In fact, all the miniature houses of a noblewoman who lived at the end of the eighteenth century, namely Petronella Oortman, were on display. The rest is narrative. A narrative so compelling that, just in these days, the sequel to the book, The house of destiny, arrives in Italy. The events take place eighteen years after those narrated in the first book and the miniatures seem to be a red thread that will continue to bind the Brandt family again.
All that remains is to sift through the drafts, close the windows tightly and wait for the Miniaturist to return.
This article is originally published on maremosso.lafeltrinelli.it