Tulip Fever (M, 105mins) Directed by Justin Chadwick ★★ Dutch artist Judith Leyster s 17th century flower studies offer more life than this airless period drama. Based on Deborah Moggach s 1999 novel of the same name,
Tulip Fever is the story of Sophia (Alicia Vikander). Plucked from St Ursula s to be the new bride of Amsterdam s self-proclaimed King of Peppercorns Cornelis Sandvoort (Christoph Waltz), her role is to give him the heir he so desperately desires. But after three years without success, a six-month deadline is imposed with the threat that her opulent finery will be replaced by the nunnery. In the meantime, Cornelis comes up with another plan to ensure his legacy – commissioning young artist Jan van Loos (Dane DeHaan) to create a double portrait of the Sandvoorts. However, the more time Jan spends studying Sophia s features, the more he becomes enamoured with the original, rather than his copy.