Whats REALLY behind that smile? (Mona Lisa Smile (DVD))

Member Name: drewboy

Product:	Mona Lisa Smile (DVD)
Date:	13/04/05 (327 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Story, Acting, Characters

Disadvantages: None that I can think of!

Its fall, 1953. The start of a new academic year for Wellesley College for young women in Boston is also a new start for Katherine Watson. Nervously yet with anticipation, she gets off the train after a long journey from California, looking forward to the opportunity to help shape who she considers to be the brightest young women in the country through her art class.

Things are not quite as she expected however, as she finds out when she enters her first class. To her horror, the whole class have already learned the core text, leaving her nothing to teach. On top of that, she finds that the girls she teaches are basically ladies in waiting until the time at which a man gets down on one knee and makes a good housewife out of them.

How will Katherine cope with this East Coast traditionalist education situation when it is completely at odds with her West Coast ideology? Will she be able to convince the students she teaches that a life in the kitchen is not their only option at a time when they believe that’s the life they were born to fulfil?




For me, Mona Lisa Smile was all about journeys. Each of the main characters in the film had to work through their own specific issues and problems they had to face. The interesting thing about these dilemmas they faced was that although the clothes and problems were different, they were at the same time related to the same problems that most people would face in today’s world.

Set a time when the transition between women having their place in the home to a more liberal time when woman started to choose options other than the home, the storyline weaves various different themes around the course of the academic year. It shows the baby boomer period where new consumer goods were becoming available to make a women’s life easier in direct contrast to the new type of life that Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) was hoping to impress on her students. The dialogue between Watson and Betty (Kirstin Dunst), a girl about to get married who firmly believed in the traditional role she was about to undertake, gets very heated as they each stuggle to try and convince the other that their view of the world is the correct one. They are both very opinionated characters and neither seem to have any room in their minds to accept that any woman would want the opposing life. Within the story there is also characters like Joan (Julia Styles) who while likes the idea of continuing her education, having to come to terms with the fact that she would not be letting herself or anyone else down.

The acting in the film really is fantastic. Roberts manages to convey the frustration her character feels watching these bright young women limiting themselves while still managing to get across a woman who still has needs under her strong persona. Of course she gets her trademark smile and laugh in on a few occasions which isn’t really a bad thing! Kirstin Dunst is very competent playing against Roberts and the contempt her character feels for the teacher who is challenging the beliefs drummed into her since her childhood. She deals with the characters realisation of what marriage actually turns out to be for her is a very heartfelt way, and the anger she sometimes has is played out to just the right level. Julia Styles portrays her characters struggle with her obvious intelligence with her natural desire to get married and raise a family very well. Her interaction with Roberts character made it very clear that while she greatly admired her teachers ideals, she found it at odds with her own desires and ultimate choices.

Directed by Mike Newall (Harry Potter, Donnie Brasco, Four Weddings & a Funeral), the attention to detail is impressive. Using the actual college, the cinematography shows the grandeur of the setting and using long shots of people walking around the campus lets us into the world these girls lived in. Coupled with the girls being dressed in the exact manner of the time, the 50’s feel is complete. An interesting contrast used to highlight the difference between the view of the girls and Katherine’s west coast attitude is the fact that she dressed in what stood out to be a lot more modern attire. Her hair was different, her clothes were different, even the way she kept her rooms at home and college were different.

The soundtrack to the film is chock full of songs of the time however they are actually covers by modern day stars – some known for their individuality and refusal to conform, the strongest theme in the movie. Artists like Tori Amos and Macy Gray sing songs that very much add to the feel of the era they were emulating.

So in conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and the comparisons that it examined between life for women today and in the 50’s and the interaction between the differing characters viewpoints makes for an interesting couple of hours viewing. Therefore, I have no problem in awarding this very well thought out, acted and filmed movie five stars, and I think it can be enjoyed by many, time and time again.

Thanks for reading,

drew

Summary: