MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

kameristka Emotional to those of us who value individuality and freedom of expression,

Stephen Bird Going into it I had nothing but a sceptical mind, what to expect and the quality the film would be I had no clue, but I thought, Julia Roberts, a film about Wellesley college, surely it would fall flat? But it didn't, upon viewing I came to realise that Mona Lisa Smile was a pretty decent film truth be told. Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) was ahead of her time, a stone cold feminist who wholeheartedly disagreed with the principals and conservative, old fashioned ways Wellesley instilled into its students. They ran classes in grooming and table setting for heavens sake, Katherine thought Wellesley was a progressive, forward thinking college, well she was very wrong. Teaching art history to a class of "brainwashed" girls (brainwashed as in Wellesley had already tapped into their fragile minds), Katherine comes to understand that the girls, lead by Betty (Kirsten Dunst), cannot express themselves and can only read and memorise from a syllabus.She spends great lengths of time trying to turn the girls around, making them realise that there's more to life than being a housewife, marrying a successful suitor and raising a family, she even encourages young Joan (Julia Stiles) to go to law school, which sadly ends in failure. It struck me as odd how Katherine could portray a further 50 years of feminism and progression when the next 50 years haven't happened yet in the film (it's set in 1953-54), did Katherine know something, was she a psychic that could see into the future? Most certainly a feminist film aimed at an audience who wanted to see what feminism was like before it actually became a thing, and how one maverick woman took things into her own hands to stand up for what she believed in. Dominic West's "Bill" and the relationship with Katherine acted primarily as a side story to give further weight to the Katherine character, both Roberts and West acted brilliantly in these scenes and it was the acting prioress particularly from Roberts that kept Mona Lisa Smile ticking at a steady pace. Yes low expectations going in, but pleasantly surprised after coming out, I obviously felt like one of the Wellesley girls in the film. Definitely worth a look, there's a load of worse things you could watch.

Filipe Neto This film tells the story of a young teacher of art history who teaches in an ultraconservative female private school. Through their ideas, she will discuss the school's rigid moral and the rules of the society of fifties, managing to earn the respect of his colleagues and the affection of the students. Directed by Mike Newell, this movie features Julia Roberts as the protagonist and Kirsten Dunst in the role of a conservative student, who will lead the opposition to the modern ideas concerning women.This film could be just another film about the private schools of American rich kids if it were three important factors that make the difference: the first is the good performance of Julia Roberts, even better than in other more acclaimed films; the second is the song "The Heart of Every Girl" composed by Sir Elton John purposely for the film and winner of a Golden Globe; the third is the screenplay, very well written and directed, focusing not only in the change of mind of the students but also in the drastic change of the role of women during the twentieth century.Despite the positive notes, this movie has two serious defects. The first is that it is too similar to the movie "Dead Poets Society". So similar that all those who watch this film without paying attention will think it is just a female version of the film starring Robin Williams. The second flaw in this movie is too much focus on the fights between girls, which only served to lighten the film and remove maturity to the plot. Maybe it was because of these small defects that the film never reached a higher level of recognition and reputation: contrary to "The Dead Poets Club" (comparisons are inevitable), this film didn't received major awards or nominations. Nevertheless, it's truly remarkable and deserves place in the living room of any lover of good cinema.

jakerresq Preachy vehicle that takes setting up a straw man to new level. Could this (Wellesley) possibly be the college that a mere decade later would hatch Alinsky inspired Hillary Rodham? The trustees must be turning over in their graves. OK, the fifties were a long way from the tumultuous sixties (See: Sixty Stanzas For The Sixties), but this mindless bunch of zombies (and their modern day sexually obscure Jeanne Brody) would never have gained entrance to this high achieving albeit elite institution.I'm a guy who likes a lot of "chick flicks" and finds the phrase dismissive and unfair, but not for this one. Run guys run.