Brush with Fate
Brush with Fate
| 01 January 2003 (USA)
Brush with Fate Trailers

A mystery hidden for generations. Now the truth will finally be revealed.

Reviews
Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.
Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
nonfiction18 I had seen this movie years ago when it first came out and while it isn't the best movie ever made, I enjoyed it. First of all, it's original. Based on Vreeland's book, the author presents us with the idea of a lost Vermeer painting. What an exciting thought because it's believable! We live in a world where treasures from sunken ships are retrieved and Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered. Why not a lost painting? And then she creates a whole history of that painting. I have not read Vreeland's book, but I may if only to read the description of the painting, which must have been quite good in order for someone to be able to create the painting shown in the movie. It makes me wonder who actually painted "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" for the movie. I will search a bit more to find out. I'll bet other people will too. Any movie that inspires you to search further whether it be to look at the real Vermeer paintings and discover an appreciation for art or perhaps to read a book written by Vreeland or Russo (Richard Russo wrote the script for this movie and has also written one of my favorite books) is worth while.
edwardkeys The only thing in which I concur with Sanchez Moreno is that Glenn Close has given us one of her very best performances in this movie. For the rest, I thought the story was interesting and at times touching and not badly played at all.
rbrb Odiously portrayed German woman living in the States with her equally repulsive father, decides for no logical reason to reveal to a complete stranger the history of a family painting. Then in flash-backs we have an often confusing yarn of the misfortunes which arose from this artwork from the 1700's; the story is suddenly turned to 200 years ahead and we are subjected to the usual propaganda about Nazi's, persecution, the long walk to the concentration camps, etc etc. The lead actress is a complete ham and what I resent is how the movie attempts to lecture us for the zillioneth time on the evils of the world disguising their posturing as the history of a work of art. 1 out of 10.
Albert Sanchez Moreno I suffered through half this film before I switched to "Dr. Strangelove" on TCM. It is yet more proof that the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" has become hopelessly bad. Glenn Close misleadingly gets top billing, and delivers a magnificent performance, but she is in less than a third of the film. Her performance as an art enthusiast makes everyone else, including the usually reliable Ellyn Burstyn, seem even worse.The film, following the pattern of such films as "The Red Violin", tells the stories of several owners of a beautiful lost Vermeer painting through the centuries. Perhaps the producers of this mawkish telefilm were hoping that lightning would strike twice, but if so, they forgot the need for subtle writing and direction, which are both hopelessly sentimental and hardly above the level of soap opera in this film. Ms. Close, as if sensing this, gives a performance that wipes away everyone else. In fact, the acting, with the exception of Close, is uniformly bad, as if we were watching a bad daytime drama in period costume.The people who made this film obviously thought that by tackling an intellectual, sophisticated subject like a great Vermeer painting they could give the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" the class it once had, but they forgot to leave behind their recent tendency for corny writing and dramatics.