I thought that I was headed to a place that would turn out tomorrow's leaders, not their wives.
Look beyond the paint. Let us try to open our minds to a new idea.
I don't think I can go a year without a hot plate.
This is all they're really doing here, isn't it? They're just biding time until SOMEBODY proposes!
A girdle to set you free. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!
[in her last editorial] Not all who wander are aimless. Especially not those who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, beyond the image.
I've heard her called a quitter for leaving and aimless wanderer. But not all who wander are aimless, especially those who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, beyond the image. I'll never forget you.
Does he pay you... for sex? I mean at the rate you're going, you could make a fortune.
Mona Lisa Smile is a 2003
romanticRomance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
drama filmA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
produced by
Revolution StudiosRevolution Studios is an American production company founded in 2000 by Joe Roth, a former chairman of Walt Disney Studios and 20th Century Fox. Revolution was formerly a strategic partner of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which distributed and marketed Revolution's films. The company's film division...
and
Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
in association with Red Om Films Productions, directed by
Mike NewellMichael Cormac "Mike" Newell is an English director and producer of motion pictures for the screen and for television. After the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005, Newell became the third most commercially successful British director in recent years, behind Christopher Nolan...
, written by
Lawrence KonnerLawrence Konner has had a long and distinguished career as an American screenwriter and television writer. In addition, he has produced a number of award winning documentaries.-Career:...
and
Mark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
, and starring
Julia RobertsJulia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
,
Kirsten DunstKirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
,
Maggie GyllenhaalMargaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
, and
Julia StilesJulia O'Hara Stiles is an American actress.After beginning her career in small parts in a New York City theatre troupe, she has moved on to leading roles in plays by writers as diverse as William Shakespeare and David Mamet...
. The title is a reference to the
Mona LisaMona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...
, the famous painting by
Leonardo da VinciLeonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
, and the
song of the same name"Mona Lisa" is a song written by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston for the Paramount Pictures film Captain Carey, U.S.A. . It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for 1950. The arrangement was by Nelson Riddle and the orchestral backing was played by Les Baxter and his Orchestra...
, originally performed by
Nat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, which was covered by
SealSeal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
for the movie. Julia Roberts received a record $25 million for her performance—the highest ever earned by an actress.
Plot
In 1953, Katherine Ann Watson (
Julia RobertsJulia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
), a 30-something grad student from California, takes a position teaching "History of Art" at Wellesley College, a conservative
women'sWomen's colleges in the United States are single-sex U.S. institutions of higher education that exclude or limit males from admission. They are often liberal arts colleges...
privatePrivate schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
liberal arts collegeA liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
in
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
because she wants to make a difference and influence the next generation of women. At her first class, Katherine discovers that the girls have already memorized the entire syllabus from the textbook so she instead uses the classes to introduce them to Modern Art and encourages spirited classroom discussions about topics such as what makes good art and what the Mona Lisa's smile means. This brings her into conflict with the conservative College President who warns Katherine to stick to the syllabus if she wants to keep her job. Katherine comes to know many of the students in her class well and seeks to inspire them to seek more than marriage to eligible young men. Joan Brandwyn (
Julia StilesJulia O'Hara Stiles is an American actress.After beginning her career in small parts in a New York City theatre troupe, she has moved on to leading roles in plays by writers as diverse as William Shakespeare and David Mamet...
) dreamt of being a lawyer and enrolled as pre-law so Katherine encourages her to apply to Yale Law School, where she is accepted. Joan, however, elopes with her fiancé Tommy, is very happy and decides that what she wants most is to be a wife and mother after graduation and asks Katherine to respect her choice.
Betty Warren (
Kirsten DunstKirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
) is highly conservative like her mother, the head of the Alumnae Association. Betty doesn't understand why Katherine is not married and is strident in insisting that there is a universal standard for good art. She writes two editorials for the college paper, one which exposes the nurse for giving out contraception, which results in the nurse being fired, and one attacking Katherine for advocating that women should seek a career instead of just being wives and mothers as intended. Betty can't wait to marry Spencer as their parents have arranged and expects to get the traditional exemptions from attending class because she is married, but Katherine insists she will be marked on merit. Connie Baker (
Ginnifer Goodwin) is dating Betty's cousin Charlie but Betty persuades her that he is only using her since it has been arranged by his parents for him to marry Deb, a girl more of his social standing, so Connie ends the relationship. However, Charlie had already decided for himself that that was not going to happen and they get back together. Giselle Levy (
Maggie GyllenhaalMargaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
) has liberal views and supports Katherine because she sees her as having chosen what she wants in her life. Giselle brazenly has affairs with a professor and a married man.
Katherine confides to the girls that she was engaged when young but that she and her fiance were separated by the war and the relationship fizzled out and that she has since had several affairs. Katherine declines a proposal from her boyfriend from California because she doesn't love him enough. She begins seeing the Wellesley Italian professor, Bill Dunbar (
Dominic WestDominic Gerard Fe West is an English actor best known for his role as Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series The Wire.-Film and TV:...
) who is charming and full of stories about Europe and his heroic actions in Italy during the war. He has also had affairs with many students including Giselle, so Katherine makes him promise that that will never happen again. However, when she discovers that he actually spent the entire war at the Army Languages Center on Long Island she decides he is untrustworthy and breaks up with him. Dunbar responds that Katherine didn't come to Wellesley to help the students but to try to find herself.
Betty's marriage fails miserably. Spencer is soon spending as much time as possible away in New York on business and is also spotted by Giselle conducting an affair. Betty's mother tries to pressure Betty into not divorcing him at least for a while to avoid scandal for the families. Betty asks her mother if the Mona Lisa's smile means she is happy. At graduation Betty tells Katherine that she is divorcing Spencer and is going to share a flat in Greenwich Village with Giselle and is considering applying to Yale Law School, which impresses Katherine. Katherine's course was highly popular and there is large demand for places the next year so the college invites her to return. However, the President and Betty's mother impose conditions on Katherine that she must follow the syllabus, submit lesson plans for approval and not talk to the girls about anything other than classes. Katherine decides to leave and heads off to explore Europe for herself.
Cast
- Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
as Katherine Ann Watson
- Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
as Elizabeth "Betty" Warren (Jones)
- Julia Stiles
Julia O'Hara Stiles is an American actress.After beginning her career in small parts in a New York City theatre troupe, she has moved on to leading roles in plays by writers as diverse as William Shakespeare and David Mamet...
as Joan Brandwyn (Donegal)
- Maggie Gyllenhaal
Margaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
as Giselle Levy
- Ginnifer Goodwin as Constance "Connie" Baker
- Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Fe West is an English actor best known for his role as Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series The Wire.-Film and TV:...
as Bill Dunbar
- Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE is an English actor of stage and screen.- Early life :Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth , a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevenson's father was in the army and was posted to a new place every...
as Amanda Armstrong
- Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden is an American film and theatre actress. Harden's breakthrough role was in Miller's Crossing and then The First Wives Club which was followed by several roles which gained her wider fame including the hit comedy Flubber and Meet Joe Black...
as Nancy Abbey
- John Slattery
John M. Slattery, Jr. is an American actor and director, best known for his role as Roger Sterling on AMC's series Mad Men. He has been nominated for many awards, and has won two SAG Awards with the Mad Men ensemble....
as Paul Moore
- Marian Seldes
Marian Hall Seldes is an American stage, film, radio, and television actress whose career has spanned six decades and who was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.-Life and career:...
as President Jocelyn Carr
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ebon Moss-Bachrach is an American stage and screen actor. He attended high school at Amherst Regional High School in Massachusetts and graduated from Columbia University. Ebon is involved with photographer Yelena Yemchuk...
as Charlie Stewart
- Topher Grace
Christopher John "Topher" Grace is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Eric Forman on the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, Eddie Brock/Venom in the Sam Raimi film Spider-Man 3, and Edwin in the 2010 film Predators....
as Tommy Donegal
- Laura Allen
-Personal life:Allen was born in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of Julie and David Allen. She grew up on Bainbridge Island, Washington as the middle child of three sisters: older Jennifer and younger Lindsay. She attended Wellesley College as a Sociology major and graduated in 1996...
as Susan Delacorte
- Emily Bauer
Emily Bauer is an American singer, dancer, actress and voice actress. She is also credited as Emily Blau.-Biography:...
as Art History Student
- Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
as Wedding Singer
- Lisa Roberts Gillan
Lisa Roberts Gillan is an American actress. She is the sister of actors Eric Roberts and Julia Roberts, and the aunt of actress Emma Roberts.-Early life:Roberts was born in Decatur, Georgia. Her mother, Betty Lou...
as Miss Albini
- Emily Eby as Miss Robin
- Taylor Roberts as Louise
- Mary Pascoe as Mary S. Pascoe, a photographer
Box office
In its first opening weekend,
Mona Lisa Smile opened at #2 at the U.S. Box office raking in $11,528,498 USD behind
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
. By the end of its run, the film had grossed $141,337,989 worldwide from a $65 million budget.
Reaction from Wellesley alumnae
In
a message to Wellesley alumnae concerning the film, Wellesley College president
Diana Chapman WalshDiana Chapman Walsh, was President of Wellesley College, from 1993 to 2007. During her tenure, the college revised its curriculum and expanded its programs in global education, internships and service learning, and interdisciplinary teaching and learning...
expressed regret, given that many alumnae from the 1950s felt that the film's portrayal of Wellesley was inaccurate.
Campus controversy
During the filming of
Mona Lisa Smile, the Wellesley College campus broke into controversy surrounding the casting of student extras with use of the phrase "not too tan" in a casting call for current Wellesley students, sparking a fear that
casting directorsIn the performing arts, casting is a pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.-Casting process:...
were using race to discriminate against potential extras. Producers claimed that they were merely stressing the importance of finding women that reflected the time period.
The controversy spilled over into the local media, and producers considered a compromise of hiring willing minority students to act as production assistants. The college issued a press release highlighting the realities of Wellesley in 1953 and defending their decision to allow the film to shoot on campus.
External links