Mona Lisa Smile
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Actor: Ginnifer Goodwin, Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie GyllenhaalBrand: ROBERTS,JULIA
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 117 minutes
Published: 2004-03-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-09
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Mona Lisa Smile
DVD Review: Uncompromising misfit, yet dedicated and compassionate
Summary: 4 Stars
The social phenomenon known as "Women's Lib" was years away, yet Miss Katherine Watson, an art history teacher at an exclusive New England all-women's college in the fall of 1953, seemed about to bring its ideas into terra incognita and thus come into conflict with just about everybody.
Julia Roberts plays a character actively challenging the stereotypical thinking behind the motives of the young - and spoilt - twenty-somethings, who have already been more than happy to remain indoctrinated by both men and women into believing that they could achieve all the happiness in the world simply by being in the home at the beck and call of their hard-working husbands.
For them, domesticity seems to be a calling, something which rankles with Watson, who has come all the way from sunny California in the belief that she is preparing tomorrow's leaders at a college, yet, as she says in a moment of emotion to the "philandering Italian professor", Bill Dunbar (Dominic West), it appears that she is simply grooming tomorrow's leaders' wives at "a finishing school disguised as a college" instead.
Challenging the status quo via "subversive" activities is not tolerated at this college by the president, Jocelyn Carr (Marian Seldes), who summarily fires the school nurse, Amanda Armstrong (Juliet Stevenson), for "being seen to promote promiscuity" by distributing contraceptive devices in spite of having been associated with the college for nearly a quarter-century.
Practically everyone's nemesis appears to be the insufferably overzealous Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst), whose mother (Donna Mitchell) just happens to be the president of the college alumnae association. Watson will not tolerate any challenge to her own authority from this student, who appears to be just as ready to be as subversive as her, yet at the same time is receptive to questioning her expected role as devoted wife, domestic, and future mother in the light of her mother's insistence that she stay with a husband who thinks more of his job than he does of her.
In the meantime, Watson is exasperated by everyone else's blind acceptance of this kind of role for "educated" women and openly asks Carr if she is proud of her students. The president's response serves only to drive Watson almost to the point of telling everyone exactly what she thinks of the whole situation.
Through not teaching what is on the art history syllabus, Watson encourages those who wear rose-tinted spectacles to think outside the box. She expects them to challenge accepted norms about what is supposed to be acceptable, who is supposed to think so and, above all, why it is supposed to be so. She uses modern, not classical, art as her medium for getting the young women to become forward thinkers, much to the consternation of Carr, who urges Watson to remember that "we are traditionalists", to which remark Watson says dryly, "Yes, I've noticed."
This is mainly Roberts' movie, as she maintains her screen presence by never exaggerating the emotions of the main character, being as abrasive and blunt when she needs to be ("'A girdle will set you free'? What does that mean?!") and as compassionate about her work and her students when she needs to be. The main cast of female supporting actors, Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Ginnifer Goodwin, give sterling performances as the young women who seem ready to embrace the lifestyle of middle-class wives pushing vacuum cleaners and using washing machines, but gradually become accustomed to thinking that there just might be a way to balance both being wives and being career women.
This is despite the fact that, for one, Joan Brandwyn (Stiles) is totally prepared to throw away the chance to go to Yale law school by telling Watson that "this is all I've always wanted - a home and a family". Watson's face shows her predictable reaction yet congratulates her on her sudden marriage in the hope that she might just think about her actions. Certainly, Watson believed that she was definitely not ready to marry herself, and the scene in the common room where she publicly scotched the rumors of an impending marriage was memorable, since it challenged the young women's perception of her as "anti-marriage" and "anti" anything else she was thought not to like.
Overall, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal have written, while Mike Newell has directed, a very enjoyable movie about the pros and cons of embracing a particular piece of (now largely outdated) ideology, even if it was never meant to be a social history polemic. However, the characters, including those who may be perceived as being utterly shallow and narrow-minded, are made quite believable by the actors. The contrast between the initial naivety of Watson and her disillusionment with the mindset of the staff and students is quite stark, and Roberts does a good job from start to finish in portraying the one "caught in the middle" between traditionalism and feminism. Watson is uncompromising in her views, yet proves to be dedicated to her job - even if she is basically a misfit in the college - and compassionate to those around her.
Description of Mona Lisa Smile
An independent-minded woman accepts a teaching position at Wellesley, an all women's college in 1953, and tries to help her students see the opportunities available to them.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 7-JUN-2005
Media Type: DVD
Julia Roberts's command of the screen is so effortless, it's easy for moviegoers to take her for granted--but we shouldn't. Mona Lisa Smile--about a noncomformist teacher at a private school who encourages students to pursue their individuality--is pretty much an all-girls version of Dead Poets Society that mixes '50s fashions with '70s feminist thought. However, its lack of ambition doesn't diminish the talent that's gone into it: The writing and directing are well-honed and skillful; the actors--a talent-studded cast featuring Marcia Gay Harden, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Stiles, and Juliet Stevenson--are uniformly excellent. But without question, Mona Lisa Smile rides on Roberts's shoulders and she carries it with ease. She's possibly the only contemporary actor who simply owns a movie the way Bette Davis, Jean Arthur, or Claudette Colbert once did, radiating a engaging mix of intelligence, drive, and emotional warmth that cannot be matched. --Bret Fetzer
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