Rating: PG13
Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 12/19/2003(USA)
Release Date: 09/30/2008
Flags: Adult Situations, Sexual Situations, Suitable for Teens
Set in 1953,
Mona Lisa Smile tells the story of
Katherine Watson (
Julia Roberts), a new young art history professor at Wellesley College, an all-female campus with a prestigious reputation for academic excellence. Unfortunately for free-minded Berkeley grad
Watson, her East Coast teaching stint comes during a less-progressive time that finds most of her students -- among them
Betty Warren (
Kirsten Dunst),
Joan Brandwyn (
Julia Stiles), and
Giselle Levy (
Maggie Gyllenhaal) -- more interested in nabbing a good husband than achieving scholastic and intellectual growth.
Watson challenges her students and the Wellesley faculty to think outside of the current mores of the community and redefine what it means to be a success; meanwhile, she tries to come to terms with her own heart's desires.
Mona Lisa Smile co-stars
Marcia Gay Harden,
Juliet Stevenson, and, as
Watson's conflicting love interests,
Dominic West and
John Slattery.
~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide