Review of Mona Lisa Smile (2003) by Ouine C — 28 May 2008

MONA LISA'S SMILE.

Not everything is as it seems, Mona Lisa may smile but is she happy? Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) heads towards the famous exclusive private school for girls of Wellesley College to teach Art History. All her high hopes are dashed out as she realizes that the prestigious school determines a successful student in "'how well' the students marry" Katherine challenges and defies the malign traditions of the faculty board and the school's Editor-in-Chief, Betty (Kirsten Dunst) to show there's more to women's roles than what society labels her to be. Armed with her principles and dream of making a difference this "unwanted and unorthodox" teacher whose brains make-up for her lack of pedigree, slowly influences and touches the lives of her students, Dubbed as the female version of Dead Poet's Society, Mona Lisa's Smile is composed of an all-star female cast with Roberts in the lead, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Marcia Gay Harden.