Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Julia Stiles: Joan Brandwyn
Photos
Quotes
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[Giselle has been secretly seeing a married psychologist]
Betty Warren : Does he pay you for sex? I mean, at the rate you're going, you could make a fortune.
Joan Brandwyn : Betty!
Betty Warren : Everyone thinks so. Do you know what they say? They say you're a whore. And pretty soon, once they've all sampled you, they'll toss you aside like a used rag.
Joan Brandwyn : Betty, stop! Now!
Betty Warren : The men you love don't even want you! Your father doesn't want you!
Giselle Levy : [to Connie] I'm gonna meet you downstairs.
Betty Warren : Professor Dunbar?
Connie Baker : Betty, that's enough!
Betty Warren : Everyone knows that you hide outside his house! It must be torturous running after a man who doesn't even care about you. Who's in love with someone else. Who hates you!
Giselle Levy : Betty...
Betty Warren : He *hates* you!
[Giselle pulls Betty into a hug]
Betty Warren : Get off of me!
[Betty struggles, but gives in a sobs on Giselle's shoulder]
Betty Warren : [about her husband] He doesn't want me!
Giselle Levy : [sympathetically] I know...
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Katherine Watson : There are seven law schools within 45 minutes of Philadelphia. You can study and get dinner on the table by 5:00.
Joan Brandwyn : It's too late.
Katherine Watson : No, some of them accept late admissions! Now, I was upset at first, I can tell you that. When Tommy came to me at the dance and told me he was accepted to Penn, I thought, 'Oh God, her fate is sealed! She's worked so hard, how can she throw it all away?' But then I realized you won't have to! You can bake your cake and eat it too! It's just wonderful!
Joan Brandwyn : We're married. We eloped over the weekend. It turned out he was petrified of a big ceremony, so we did a sort of spur-of-the-moment thing. Very romantic.
[Katherine is stunned]
Joan Brandwyn : It was my choice, not to go. He would have supported it.
Katherine Watson : But you don't have to choose!
Joan Brandwyn : No, I have to. I want a home, I want a family! That's not something I'll sacrifice.
Katherine Watson : No one's asking you to sacrifice that, Joan. I-I just want you to understand that you can do both.
Joan Brandwyn : Do you think I'll wake up one morning and regret not being a lawyer?
Katherine Watson : Yes, I'm afraid that you will.
Joan Brandwyn : Not as much as I'd regret not having a family, not being there to raise them. I know exactly what I'm doing and it doesn't make me any less smart. This must seem terrible to you.
Katherine Watson : I didn't say that. I...
Joan Brandwyn : Sure you did. You always do. You stand in class and tell us to look beyond the image, but you don't. To you a housewife is someone who sold her soul for a center hall colonial. She has no depth, no intellect, no interests. You're the one who said I could do anything I wanted. This is what I want.
Katherine Watson : [hugs] Congratulations. Be happy.
[walks away]
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Connie Baker : And, it was perfect, romantic, we stayed up all night, talking.
Joan Brandwyn : [to Giselle] You're late, what happened to Sunday brunch?
Giselle Levy : We stayed up all night, too. Not talking.
Connie Baker : The psychoanalyst again.
Giselle Levy : Divine exhaustion.
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Katherine Watson : It says here that you're pre-law. What law school are you going to go to?
Joan Brandwyn : I hadn't really thought about that. After I graduate, I plan on getting married.
Katherine Watson : And then?
Joan Brandwyn : [confused] And then... I'll be married.
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Joan Brandwyn : I've got a secret to tell you. I got accepted early to Yale Law School.
Betty Warren : To *what*? Why? You don't want to be a lawyer!
Joan Brandwyn : Maybe I do.
Betty Warren : You won't switch brands of cold cream without asking me, but you applied to law school?
Joan Brandwyn : On a lark. We never thought I'd get in.
Betty Warren : Who's 'we'?
Joan Brandwyn : Miss Watson. She practically filled out my application for me.
Betty Warren : You've got to be kidding me. What right does she have? You're getting married!
Joan Brandwyn : First of all, there's no ring on this finger. Second, I can do both. I can!
Betty Warren : You are this close to getting you ever wanted. And this close to losing it.
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Katherine Watson : From the beginning, man has always had the impulse to create are. Can anyone tell me what this?
Joan Brandwyn : "Wounded Bison", Altameera, Spain, about 1500 BC.
Katherine Watson : Very good, Joan. Despite the age of these paintings, they are technically very sophisticated...
Joan Brandwyn : Because of the shading, and the thickness of the lines as it moves over the hump of the bison. Is that right?
Katherine Watson : Yes, that's exactly right. Next slide. This one, you are probably less familiar with. It was discovered by archaeologists in...
Betty Warren : [dryly] 1879, Lascaux, France, dates back to 10 000 BC, singled out because of the flowing lines depicting the movement of the animal.
[the class laughs]
Katherine Watson : Impressive. Name?
Betty Warren : "Herd of Horses."
Katherine Watson : I meant yours.
Giselle Levy : We call her Flicka.
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Joan Brandwyn : You gave me a C.
Katherine Watson : I'm kind.
Joan Brandwyn : The assignment was to write about Bruegel. That's what I did.
Katherine Watson : No, what you did was copy Strauss.
Joan Brandwyn : I was referencing an expert.
Katherine Watson : If I wanted to know what he thought, I'd buy his book.
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Connie Baker : [holding up a diaphragm] This isn't what I think it is, is it?
Joan Brandwyn : Where'd you get it?
Giselle Levy : From the school nurse.
Betty Warren : It's against the law!
Giselle Levy : No, honey, it's a girl's best friend.
Betty Warren : A certain kind of girl.
Giselle Levy : Meet the last virgin bride.
Betty Warren : Spencer is a gentleman.
Giselle Levy : And even gentlemen have dicks.
Connie Baker : Maybe I'll get one!
Giselle Levy : What, a dick?
Betty Warren : Don't be stupid, Connie!
Connie Baker : [hurt] Someone, somewhere, someday might be interested. Just in case, I'll be prepared.
[Connie leaves, fighting back tears]
Joan Brandwyn : Was that necessary?
Betty Warren : I was taught it's best to speak honestly.
Giselle Levy : You're a bitch.