Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

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 | College | Art | 1950s | Art History

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 nominations

Cast

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

Colour:

Colour

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:

Producers had originally applied to film at Bryn Mawr College, another one of the Seven Sisters. It is unclear as to why they ultimately went with Wellesley College.

Goofs:

Continuity: With the exception of Christmas break, all the bar scenes are similar. Bill is wearing the same sweater, and Katherine's hair is always half-up, her earrings are always the same (as well as in the Christmas Break scene), and her outfit is the same by adding either a coat or a vest. These are all supposed to be happening at different times but are all very similar.

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:

Features "I Love Lucy" (1951)

Soundtrack:

Flying Home

Formulaic nice-teacher film...

1st watched 4/4/2004 - 5 out of 10(Dir-Mike Newell): Formulaic nice-teacher film with Julia Roberts as the nice teacher. The only difference between this movie and many others about a teacher who changes the students lives supposedly for the better is that it occurs at an all-girls school(can you say `Dead Poets Soceity' for women). Roberts is watchable as usual, but that's about it. The stories of the students is much more interesting but not enough screen time is given for this and what we end up getting is a very surfacy film about life and love in the early 50's for young girls. It's a shame because the intended topic, women's changing role in society, seems to be given second place to the stars and their performances. It's possible that because I'm a man, the story didn't grip me like it should have but I couldn't change sexes just for this review. My best advice is try it and see if you like it and disagree with me if you want, but this is my interpretation of this `could have been good film' that wasn't.