Mona Lisa Smile

The ancient poet Browning wrote 'God's in his heaven all's right with the world' but not at Wellesley college in the 1950's...for here we have an art teacher who is thought to subvert the values of students, and become like a mentor or guru and the film has much to say about feminism and the housewife with children in the home, at the time largely tied to her church community and pta. Like harper valley pta....That's the background this movie is set against...amid the world of art and mona lisa's smile...when the life of woman was not all it wa supposed to be...and some independent mided woman found themselves in convents as a freer way to relate and develop themselves.
Is she an iconolast..a teacher..or someone trying to convert others to her values. The Roberts character, played with an aloofness and independence by the actress, at first seems harsh to the viewer and they have trouble identifying but that tells me she's hit the nail on the head in this movie, and the acting is good. She shouldnt be someone who we cozy up to..and the persona here in no way is that. Academic freedom...i find the ladies at this level of education are smart, and well developed personally in many ways, and though many as the bonus features shows at films end were celibate, that just tells me they are much better to appreciate art then modern persons. There minds are more studious, and although the interest in dating and men is there, they have really given that up for a life of study...like the independent minded of years ago who removed themselves from the world...although here it's briefly since they do eventually marry. The movie has very beautiful females,who can marry, but choose instead to have a school life with woman, and open up their aesthetic sense and enjoy the beauty as they see it in art and open up their reflections of the world around them...much as the people of years ago allowed the absolute as genuinely experienced to do the seem..enjoy some transformative and transcending experience. Here though there is little religion and the writer explores the sociology of the 50's...the art prof is trying to break their conformity..and becomes a counsellor and sage to the students as well. Is she a feminist? That's up for conjecture...or is she trying to make them thinkers..emotionally she's not really there...many of the feminists it has been criticized largely advocate for woman's rights,as opposed to male dominance,and in the two trying to dominate and developing this mind set,they are both neandrithal(sic) of sorts, not really interested in the truth but what suits their intent to dominate...male and female counterparts of the same thing..they detest each other but they are carbon copies...the Roberts character is research driven...wants the truth..she confronts early on a woman housewife who 'thank god' she sais among sitting down has a later interlude with her..in which she defends the right of woman to be housewives and mothers, which they find more emancipative due to their relation to the absolute...although she doesnt say it in these terms. An interesting movie not as famous as her other roles..and not as financially successful...but a good intro to the 50's and she leaves the school at the end since she can only teach but can no longer counsel...like Robert in most of her films the actess is buttoned up..the clothes desexualizin and emasculating..as compared to the other beautifully dressed women...her acting is fitting for this role and she talks in the bonus features,and makes some interesting points...i've always felt and have seen her films that My best friend's wedding,is her best role, and some critics are seeing now a greater value in that film,,times are changing...but lucy on I love Lucy..here pictured...also like to be buttoned up and dressed in a way so you concentrated on talk and conversation,,like two adults in a timeless sanctuary...where they could develop each other as freely and as they saw fit...what would hollywood be if people didnt experiment and although we dont want to return us to the dark ages..of the characters in the movie i like the housewife most of all and that will make me the bane of feminists everywhere...but not for the reasons they think..and only since i wouldnt want to return anyone to the dark ages....

Mona Lisa Smile is an inspiring film based on a time period when women are beginning to explore alternative roles in society other than the traditional roles of being a stay at home mother who concentrates on her husband's career and success--rather than her own. Julia Roberts and her fellow actresses explore the roles of women as Julia plays an art professor who sets out to academically enlighten a group of already well-educated, rich girls attending a finishing school. Through this enlightening process she helps several of the students find their way, broaden their horizons, and in the process finds herself. The movie deserves four stars because Julia's character not only lets the audience relate on a feminine level but on a humanitarian level as well. The viewer can truly imagine the Mona Lisa smiling, if she were to watch Julia Robert's performance in this movie.

As entertainment, "Mona Lisa Smile" has its strong points. After all, it features some of some of today's best actresses - Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden. It has the look of the 1950s, which makes it a handsome period piece. The movie's central problems are its unsuccessful attempts to convey the real feeling of the period and its failure to create any truly memorable characters [the script's fault more than the performers']. While it wants to be seen as a historically accurate portrait of upper-middle class society fifty years ago, it winds being no more than an entertaining soap opera. [For a more astute vision of the period, watch the vastly superior "Far From Heaven" [2002]. For a searing portrait of a teacher in an all girls' school, check out 1969's "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie".]

Katherine Watson [Roberts], a recent UC Berkeley graduate, lands a job at Wellesley College, a prestigious East Coast women's college, as an art history teacher. She is impressed by her students' eagerness to learn, but appalled that, despite their academic excellence, their main ambition is to marry well. She begins a fairly benign campaign to get these women to realize that there might be other ambitions in life worth pursing. Her efforts make the college's president and its board of trustees uncomfortable to the point that her job is in danger. The students' responses range from acceptance to outright hostility.

The always delightful Roberts is miscast here. She is a joy to watch and gives one of her most mature performances, yet she comes off as an early 21st Century woman sent to the mid-20th Century to show these girls what the future will be like. This interpretation gives her character a certain smugness.

The supporting cast is uniformly excellent. Gyllenhaal nearly steals the movies as Giselle, a beautiful Jewish student, the only one who seems destined to be on the forefront of women's lib in years to come.