Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

Director:

Mike Newell

Writers (WGA):

Lawrence Konner (written by) &
Mark Rosenthal (written by)

Release Date:

19 December 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

In a world that told them how to think, she showed them how to live.

Plot:

A free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 50's Wellesley girls to question their traditional societal roles.

Plot Keywords:

Student | Art | College | School | Art History

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Julia Roberts	...	Katherine Ann Watson
Kirsten Dunst	...	Betty Warren
Julia Stiles	...	Joan Brandwyn
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Giselle Levy
Ginnifer Goodwin	...	Connie Baker
Dominic West	...	Bill Dunbar
Juliet Stevenson	...	Amanda Armstrong
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Nancy Abbey
John Slattery	...	Paul Moore
Marian Seldes	...	President Jocelyn Carr
Donna Mitchell	...	Mrs. Warren
Terence Rigby	...	Dr. Edward Staunton
Jennie Eisenhower	...	Girl at the Station
Leslie Lyles	...	Housing Director
Laura Allen	...	Susan Delacorte

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and thematic issues.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Canada:G (British Columbia/Ontario/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Finland:S | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:AL | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7

Filming Locations:

Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In order to prepare for her role, Julia Roberts observed art history classes at New York University.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the Maypole dance, the first shot of the maypole already has a tight pattern made at the top. In the second shot of the maypole, the ribbons are just starting to go around the pole.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Betty Warren: [voiceover] All her life, she had wanted to teach at Wellesley College. So, when a position opened in the Art History department, she pursued it single-mindedly until she was hired. It was whispered that Katherine Watson, a first-year teacher from Oakland State, made up in brains what she lacked in pedigree. Which was why this bohemian from California was on her way to the most conservative college in the nation.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Soundtrack:

Tea for Two

Either you're gonna love it or you won't.

I just watched this movie in the theatres as it was released just a few days ago overhere. What can you expect from it? You've seen the trailers... It looks pretty much like Dead Poet's Society doesn't it? But with women instead? :-D.

Well, I had that feeling indeed. It felt like Dead Poet's Society during some periods in the movie. But overall, it was still different. The surface story isn't that complicated and easy to follow. It's nothing new either. But it was displayed very well.

Sure, it's about a teacher... her passion to teach and the way she outwitted the students to get the best out of them... It also shows the way a good teacher cares for their students and so forth... and the way contradicting ideas may blind one's ideas and actions, towards those who they are meant for. Did that sentence sound weird or what? :).

You can't go wrong with the cast here. You've got Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ginnefer Goodwin, etc. They played great in the movie.

Julia Roberts is just great at playing these emotional roles. It was believable as well. I at least could feel the frustration which she had. Her character is more of a confused type. She reminded me of Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds... There was basically a mixture of confusion and dedication... thus as a teacher, despite how sure of she may be of her teaching methods, you also sense a nervousness in her... a feeling of uncertainty as to whether her methods of getting the messages across to the students or not will work. I thought Julia Roberts did a great job in that area.

Kirsten was just excellent. You could feel the internal turmoil going through her throughout the movie. One might argue that she had a pretty wack role and that she overacted etc. but I don't agree with that. She's practically a heartless b**** through the movie, but you can't help but understand why. The same goes for Julia and Maggie. Just the way they were depicted in the movie, you really felt for them. Ginnefer Goodwin's character was also funny and emotional to watch.

Marcia Gay Harden, as Julia's friend was great. She was a pretty funny character to watch, but at the same time, you just can't help but feel sorry for her.

Times have changed... from those times and now. Many might watch this movie and go, "Uhm, okay, what's the big deal?" But the problem is that women have gone through a great ordeal and struggle to get to where they are today in society. Even today, they still fight to gain respect in many areas in the world today.

I've heard many bad comments about this movie. And funnily enough, most of them come from guys... whilst the females found it a bit better. There were some negative comments but many said that they loved it, but felt that it wasn't a movie for everyone.

The movie tackling the issue of feminism only touches upon a small part of it all of course. One cannot tackle the whole aspect of feminism in any one single movie at all, and I found the focus to be good enough. There are many stereotypes here and I found them necessary to get the points across. If it were not for the stereotypes, people would be wondering what the point really was. But now that there are stereotypes, people will complain about them.

I thought that it was a bit too short. It could have focused a bit more on the other characters in the movie... i.e. the girls in school. A few more subplots and build ups may have been better. There was a little foreshadowing in the movie but one couldn't help but wonder where the movie was going. But what overcame this, from my point of view, was that you just felt that you wanted to get to know the characters in the movie more. The more you knew about each character, the more the characters knew about one another. I thought that was quite nice.

I would advise everyone with an open mind for dramas to go watch this movie. If guys see this movie as a "chick flick"... they really won't know what to expect cause this would be "the most THE chick flick for chicks" if you get my drift. I'm a guy and I found it entertaining... Whether it was insightful or not, I wouldn't say it was, due to experiences and stories throughout my life.

The movie isn't without flaws... There could have been even more character build up if only the director's were given more film to record the picture. But do watch this if you can :). It'll be worth the time, if you're patient enough :).