Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

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

Director:

Mike Newell

Writers:

Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal

Stars:

Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles

Nominated for 1 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

Storyline

Katherine Ann Watson has accepted a position teaching art history at the prestigious Wellesley College. Watson is a very modern woman, particularly for the 1950s, and has a passion not only for art but for her students. For the most part, the students all seem to be biding their time, waiting to find the right man to marry. The students are all very bright and Watson feels they are not reaching their potential. Altough a strong bond is formed between teacher and student, Watson's views are incompatible with the dominant culture of the college.

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Plot Keywords:

student | school | art | college | wellesley college | 

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Taglines:

In einer Welt, die ihnen vorschrieb, wie man lebt, lehrte sie sie, wie man denkt. (In a world that told them how to live, she taught them how to think.)

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and thematic issues

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia Tristar [fr] Official site [br]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

19 December 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

La sonrisa de Mona Lisa

Filming Locations:

Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$11,289 (Hong Kong) (30 April 2004)

Gross:

$11,289 (Hong Kong) (30 April 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Studios, Red Om Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

Part way through the film, Katherine and friends are seen walking into a bar in Wellesley, Wellesley was a totally dry town in the 1950s.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits for the prominent cast and crew are set in front of vintage footage and advertisements showing women in the 1940s and 50s.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Jennifer Aniston/Black Eyed Peas (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Would I Mind"
Written by Joe Candullo, Jack Little, and Eddie Snyder
Performed by Steve Gibson's Red Caps
Courtesy of Bear Family Records

User Reviews

Finally, a film that doesn't insult our intelligence!

I didn't expect much going into "Mona Lisa Smile". I figured it was going to be a rehash of all the movies ever made about teachers. You know, from "Goodbye Mr. Chips" and "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", to "The Dead Poets' Society" and "Mr. Holland's Opus". But "Mona Lisa Smile" pleasantly surprised me, especially the uncompromising, principled ending.

Another thing that pleased me was the film's assumption of an intelligent, educated audience that does not require any dumbing-down of art and culture. "Mona Lisa Smile" rattles off names of artists and their works as if it fully expected moviegoers to be conversant with them. In at least one case, the film names neither the artist nor the work (Picasso's "Demoiselles d'Avignon"). All of these things are taken as givens, as part and parcel of a sophisticated audience's cultural baggage -- quite a change from the usual pap that Hollywood spoonfeeds us!

Moreover, the film sometimes speaks volumes by what it doesn't say but simply shows, taking for granted that we will fill in the blanks from our knowledge of the history of the period (that is, the early 1950s). There is one oblique reference to McCarthyism. A photo of an atomic explosion reminds us of the post-WWII, Cold War era. A game show on TV triggers a memory of the payola scandal. Again, "Mona Lisa Smile" credits us with brains rather than insulting our intelligence.

Mercifully, the title of the film is not simply a reference to Julia Roberts' famous beestung, collagen-enhanced lips. As Kirsten Dunst's character explains toward the end of the movie, Mona Lisa's smile is not necessarily an indication that she is happy and content -- any more than the women of the 1950s with their dream homes and seemingly perfect lives. "Mona Lisa Smile" is ultimately an indictment of those in society who perpetrate and perpetuate secrets and lies, and a tribute to those through whom the truth prevails.