Rating:  -
I was prepared before seeing this to dismiss it as drivel, and in some sense it was. Although Julia Roberts was not terrible in this role by any means, I found her to be... not entirely believable in her role as a professor. Still, the kind of professor she was supposed to be and her ability to ruffle feathers and shake things up (being a more free-spirited California girl as opposed to the stuffy upper crust girls she teaches at Wellesley), that was more believable. Roberts has the kind of fired-up passion to inspire her students. More important though were the supporting cast of characters, her students, who fall into some stereotypical roles but who do so believably within the framework of the era (1950s); though being educated, they were being groomed for marriage and family life. Roberts comes along and tries to make each of them see that this was not the only option available to them. Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal were particularly believable; Kirsten Dunst is particularly good as an insecure, spoiled witch debutante who revels in schadenfreude. I can buy that. Although there were some good moments here, and the film was fine enough, it was too much a female version of Dead Poet's Society and therefore isn't treading new artistic territory.
Rating:  -
Considering the subject matter and the feminist overtones, I expected much more from this movie what was delivered. Save for one brilliant (if somewhat awkwardly-placed) scene involving Julia Roberts' passionate admonishment of the internalized sexism of popular advertising, this movie is rife with cliches and over-trodden ground. There are times when you feel as if the film is trying to say something more about sex roles, feminism, and the advent of what would later be coined as "the feminine mystique," but they appear so infrequently, so awkwardly, and so unsatisfying as to barely merit a mention.
In terms of acting, Julia Roberts' and Maggie Gyllenhaal's roles are the most successfully portrayed. Kirsten Dunst succeeds at being annoying (for once her intent matches her performance) and Julia Stiles' role was just awfully acted altogether, no two ways about it. I've never heard a more unconvincing and "I'm happy!" in my life. Her heart-to-heart with Roberts, regardless of how important the message, almost brought tears to my eyes -- not out of any strong feeling, but because it was so painfully artificial.
If taken at little more than face value, the movie warrants a viewing, if only for the beautiful cinematography and snapshot of female collegiate life post-World War 2. But if you are a historian or a feminist (or both) hoping to enjoy a glimpse into the world that inspired Fridan's classic expose, look elsewhere. And if you ever find one that satisfies this desire, be sure to let me know.
Rating:  -
The initial scene of this exquisite 2003 charmer is narrated by Kirsten Dunst's auburn-haired Wellesley newspaper columnist, Betty Warren, who is as pretty as a rose, and just as thorny, especially in her criticism of those around her.
This is particularly true when a new and unconventional art professor from California named Katherine Watson, played by Julia Roberts, arrives at Wellesley College in the autumn of 1953.
Betty, whose tyrannical mother(Donna Mitchell)is the President of Wellesley's Alumni Association, initially resents the arrival of this "subversive" young teacher with radical ideas.
Directed by Mike Newell, the film's cinematography is periodically bathed in the golden light of nostalgia, and studded with an array of fine performances not only by Roberts and Dunst, but also by a charismatic Julia Stiles as the throaty-voiced, New England-accented Joan Brandwyn, the class leader, and Betty's best friend, Ginnifer Goodwyn, as the plump, friendly, accomplished cellist, Connie, real-life Wellesley alumni Laura Allen as the breathy-voiced, refined-sounding Susan Delacorte, and the willowy and unconventionally beautiful Maggie Gyllenhall as the stereotypically promiscuous daughter of divorced parents, Giselle Levy, who, like Professor Watson, is probably one of the most realistic characters in the film, perhaps more fully aware of certain truths about life and relationships that the strait-laced and conservative Betty will simply have to learn the hard way.
Marcia Gay Harden, who won an Oscar for playing Jackson Pollock's wife, is also featured in this film in which a Pollock painting receives attention. She plays the ettiquette Professor, Nancy Abbey, who like many women of her time has to present a facade of respectabilty in order to cover up the unpleasant truth
about her own status as a single woman. Interestingly we learn about her past in an in vino veritas moment during Betty's wedding reception. We also learn why Betty's wedding day is more her mother's day than her own.
The male counterparts in the film are led by Dominic West, who reprises the role he had as a lying womanizer in "Chicago", only this time as an Italian Professor. Beau Bridges' son, Jordan reveals that the acting genes haven't gone thin as Betty's uncaring husband, Spencer. One feels that Topher Grace as Tommy Donnegal, and Ebon-Moss Bacharach as Betty's sweet cousin, Charlie Stewart, the love interests of Joan and Connie, are destined for happy marriages. Their perfomances lend a certain winsomeness to the story.The reality of Betty's marriage is initially summed up by the single longing glance Betty gives a kissing Joan and Tommy as they visit her at her home.
Juliet Stevenson, a prominent figure in feminist theatre, has an interesting role as the closet case school nurse who is fired after one of Betty's editorials reveals her distribution of conraceptives, which at that time, were illegal.
Viewers observe the routines and rituals of a conservative women's college, as well as the chilly reception Miss Watson receives during her first class,and her challenging of her students'conventional views of art, especially when the fresh, rosy-faced young women respond to the sight of the Jackson Pollack painting.
We observe the growing number of clashes between Professor Watson and the faculty (led by Marian Seldes as a staid and icy President Carr) as well as Betty Warren, who will come to realize how silly she looks in the editorial photos in which she tries to capture the essence of a married Wellesley girl soon enough.
Miss Watson's daring sexual behavior would have raised more eyebrows in its time than it does 50 years later.
The costumes of the women are another point of interest in the representation of their characters. Giselle is often clad in rich, vibrant, if not jewel-toned colors and flesh-revealing clothes, complimented by a necklace with a sensuous heart-shaped pendant, whereas the more conservative Joan and Betty wear conservatively colored, preppier and more modest styles complete with the inevitably prissy set of pearls.
The story itself has a lolling gentility that sharply contrasts with the theme of radicalism that it promotes. Ultimately the conventionally trained members of Wellesley's graduating class of 1954 will be inspired by their art teacher to shape their own destinies, wheather they choose careers of their own or conventional family lives, and while I would agree that this film is the obligatory girls version of "Dead Poets'Society", its touch is delightfully feminine, and the graduating class' tributes to Miss Watson, both in their final class assignment and graduation-day salute, give the film a sunnier and more hopeful ending.
Rating: -
I normally hate watching films and generally refrain from reviewing them altogether. But Mona Lisa Smile caught my attention from the beginning, and now I've finally bought it. I can say without hesitation that I have absolutely no regrets. This is one of those videos you find once in a lifetime--one you can watch over and over, one that still brings you to tears after the thousandth time, and one that never loses its magic.
Julia Roberts works her usual charm over the entire film playing the ambitious young teacher, Kathryn Watson, whose life dream is to be a teacher at an upscale all-girls school in Massachusetts. She wants to change these girls' lives. Mona Lisa Smile documents her struggle to win the hearts of the aloof--but sometimes risqué--girls who attend there. Kathryn shows the young women who they can be, but she also must find herself, and who she really is.
In the tradition of the tear-jerking Dead Poet's Society, Mona Lisa Smile captures the heart and mind. It's one of the films (and be assured, there aren't many) that will never fail to reduce me to tears in several scenes. The stellar cast, the raw emotions, and (what else?) the beautiful smiles that make up this wonderfully produced film make it simply a must. If one video ever deserved a resounding five stars, it would be Mona Lisa Smile.
Rating: -
mona lisa smile was a pretty good movie. that has alot of great actresses.
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