Critic's pick: 'Tim's Vermeer' a tale of art, obsession Tim Jenison, right, demonstrates his first painting experiment to his friend Penn Jillette in the film "Tim's Vermeer." Carlo Villarreal / Sony Pictures Classics January 29, 2014, 6:20 p.m. If you missed the very fine, fine-art documentary "Tim's Vermeer" during its brief stop last month, it is back in town for its official run. Director Teller (better known as the droller half of the ironic comedy/magic team Penn & Teller) follows inventor Tim Jenison's journey to understand how the 17th-century painter Johannes Vermeer tripped the light so fantastically. A tale of art and obsession unfolds as Jenison experiments with various optical techniques Vermeer might have used to achieve his luminous interplay of light and shadow. As intriguing as the question is the way Jenison - an engaging, curious, brainy fellow - answers it, meticulously replicating everything from the brush strokes Vermeer took to the room in which he worked. Teller captures artistic creation, and appreciation, in such dynamic, beautiful detail it begs to be seen on the big screen.