Tim’s Vermeer

Tim Jenison, one of the giants of video and post-production software for home computers, is always in search of new projects and simple solutions to apparently complex problems. After he read Philip Steadman and David Hockney’s hypotheses about Vermeer and his alleged use of optics, Jenison built his own camera obscura and decided that there was one missing component. He then put his theory to the test, which drove him, step by step, to his grandest and most obsessive project ever. Jenison built a “set” in a San Antonio studio that recreated Vermeer’s “The Music Lesson” one painstakingly crafted object at a time, from the ceiling beams to the jug on the carpeted table. In the process, he taught himself to paint. Narrated by the ever-ebullient Penn and directed by the silent Teller, both longtime friends of Jenison’s, Tim’s Vermeer is a bouncy, entertaining, real-life detective story. A Sony Pictures Classics release.