A
film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net.
The movie transpires on the campus of Wellesley College during the 1953-54 academic year. Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a new arts history teacher, is excited about the prospect of interacting with a student body comprised of the most intelligent women in the United States. But she is disappointed by what she finds - most of her students view their time at Wellesley as a steppingstone to wedded bliss. They do not deem it to be possible to have both a successful career and a marriage. After all, how would it be possible to have the dinner on the table every night if they're working? Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst) is the biggest believer in a woman's traditional role, and becomes Katherine's most energetic sparring partner. Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles), Betty's best friend, is torn between marrying her boyfriend and applying to law school. Connie Baker (Ginnifer Goodwin) isn't concerned about marriage - she just wants to find a boyfriend. And Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) may be the most sexually liberated of the bunch, but she finds herself harboring a crush on her Italian teacher, Bill Dunbar (Dominc West), who, in turn, is pursuing Katherine.
The Dead Poets Society connection is both immediately obvious and misleading. Despite its manipulative tendencies, the 1989 film contained moments of great emotional power - an element that is lacking in Mona Lisa Smile. With only minor exceptions, everything that occurs during the movie's slow-paced 115 minutes is pre-ordained. If you have seen the trailers, you have seen the film. This is by-the-numbers plotting that takes no chances and offers an obligatory uplifting ending that is neither justified nor credible.
One of the supposed goals of Mona Lisa Smile is to underline the fact that women of the '50s could break out of traditionally defined roles and still live fulfilling lives. As an iconic representation of this new woman, Katherine fails. She is frustrated in her personal life, her career requires compromises she is unwilling to make, and Joan Brandwyn, one of her pet projects, disappoints her. The victory she wins at the end is pyrrhic; careful examination of the subtext might easily lead one to believe that the route to happiness necessitates giving in to tradition and making the most out of it. That's not the message the movie wants viewers to come away with, but, for those who take the time to look, it is there.
Julia Roberts is a fine actress, but she sleepwalks her way through this part, imbuing Katherine with little in the way of charm or passion. The opposite is true of Kirsten Dunst, who goes over-the-top in turning Betty into the most astonishingly one-dimensional bitch to hit screens this year. Julia Stiles shows even less personality than Roberts; her character is easily overlooked and is the most likely to be forgotten. Mona Lisa Smile's bright spots come from Maggie Gyllenhaal and Ginnifer Goodwin, whose performances are on-target and whose characters are interesting enough to warrant more screen time than they are given.
Mona Lisa Smile's director is Mike Newell, whose previous credits include the gangster film Donnie Brasco, the underrated jewel Enchanted April, and the internationally-known Four Weddings and a Funeral. For Newell, this is an inexplicable misstep. He tries his best to fashion an inspirational, feel-good tale, but the lack of compelling characters and the reliance upon formulas makes this movie a late-night cable TV time killer at best. The most likely facial expression to be elicited by Mona Lisa Smile is a grimace. [Berardinelli’s rating: 50/100 (2 out of 4 stars)]
Labels: college, drama, Fifties, Julia Stiles
IMDb 65/100
MetaScore (critics=45, viewers=70)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=49, viewers=70)
Blu-ray
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