In the 17th-century Netherlands, young Petronella "Nella" Oortman moves into an Amsterdam home that her new husband, Johannes, shares with his sister, Marin, and their two servants Otto and Cornelia. She receives a cold reception from Marin and an indifferent one from Johannes, who provides her with a mysterious cabinet with nine rooms to occupy her time.
Nella writes to a miniaturist to order only three items, and with time she receives multiple of them, without having ordered them, to decorate the cabinet as a doll house. Nella is surprised that each parcel includes a mysterious note as she receives the dolls of her house members predicting something, making it similar to the house they live in.
Johannes has an agreement to sell sugar for Frans. However, Johannes is discovered to be in a long-time same-sex relationship with Jack, a secret which Marin had tried to hide so he could not be punished by the state. Jack tries to attack Marin, but is wounded by Otto. Frans files a complaint claiming that Johannes attempted to murder Jack and forced Jack to be in this relationship, also accusing Johannes of bribery. Johannes tries to escape but is arrested and imprisoned, so the jury decides his fate.
Meanwhile, Marin is found to be pregnant and she tells Nella she was in love with Frans before he married Agnes; however, Marin herself has declined Frans' proposal. Frans became negative toward Johannes, thinking Johannes forbade Marin to marry him. Marin passes away after a painful delivery. The baby is discovered to be Otto's daughter. Nella tries to sell the sugar to a baker who was Cornelia's friend, and bribes some people so she can bury Marin secretly and save her husband of four months from the false charges against him. However, Johannes is sentenced to death by drowning on the charge of being a sodomite, the only one proved.
Nella finds out that The Miniaturist was a girl trying to follow her who vanished when Nella tries to follow back. Nella asks her how could she tell by making dolls what would happen in the Brandt family, but The Miniaturist has no answer for her questions.
Romola Garai as Marin Brandt: She is Johannes's sister, who holds the power in the Brandt household despite Nella's arrival.[6]
Alex Hassell as Johannes Brandt: He is a merchant who sells sugar. His marriage to Nella is to cover his secrets. Nella observes he frequently leaves their house instead of spending time with her.[7]
Geoffrey Streatfeild as Frans Meermans: He is an up-and-coming businessman, and an "old" friend of Johannes whose friendship ends when his ex-fiance Marin declines to marry him.
Aislín McGuckin as Agnes Meermans: She is Frans's wife who has invested money in sugar.[9]
In addition, Ziggy Heath plays the character of Jack Philips, who indulges in a same-sex relationship with Johannes, which is a punishable crime. Christopher Godwin plays the character of Pastor Pellicorne, a religious leader in Amsterdam, and Ian Hogg plays the character of Pieter Slabbaert, who is a schout of Amsterdam.[10]
The series was filmed on location in the Netherlands, with Leiden standing in for 17th-century Amsterdam.[11]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 76% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Handsome set pieces and exceptional performances help make The Miniaturist engaging enough, even if its version of events doesn't quite measure up to its mysterious source material."[12]
Caroline Framke for Variety praised the beauty of the series, but criticised it as overly long. "It's a shame that the series never quite gels, given how much it has going for it in terms of story, talent, and the truly spectacular production design and costuming that sets off the on location shoots with such style. But just like the dollhouse at its center, The Miniaturist is better at housing facsimiles rather than characters that feel real.[13]
Hanh Nguyen of IndieWire, who graded the series a B, criticised the series for weak character development — which made it seem as though "an episode has gone missing" — but that the series was still worth watching. "Despite Amsterdam thriving during this time, the series examines life in that society from the point of view of the misfits and marginalized. Defiance and bravery are necessary to face the ugliness that is presented, and it's a theme echoed in the characters' actions. The Miniaturist may feel raw and green, sometimes naively so, but in its awkward, otherworldly way champions hope and change, and that's rarely a waste of time."[2]
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