Mona Lisa Smile :)
I just watched this movie *Mona Lisa Smile* and just fell in love with the movie and each & every character - especially the character played by Julia Roberts with just enough smile & just enough emotions spilling out to show what she felt ..actually each n every actor/actress in the movie had just the right expression on their face. One real fine movie - directed by Mike Newell. Loved it!
Just wanted to share my fav - these last few lines from the movie.
Dear Betty: I came to Wellesley because .. I wanted to make a difference.But to change for others...- is to lie to yourself.
My teacher...Katherine Watson,
lived by her own definition...... and would not compromise that. Not even for Wellesley.
I dedicate this, my last editorial...... to an extraordinary woman...... who lived by example......and compelled us all to see the world through new eyes.
By the time you read this, she'll be sailing to Europe...... where I know she'll find new walls to break down.... and new ideas to replace them with.
Hold it, everybody.
I've heard her called a quitter for leaving......an aimless wanderer. But not all who wander are aimless. Especially not those who seek truth beyond tradition...... beyond definition..... beyond the image.
LIFE - Just Live It! :)
always keep smiling :)
posted by niddlesriddles | 10:40 PM
7 Comments:
i watched that movie and was impressed with julia acting. i remember few scene from the movie but couldnt recall the story line. i remember she is a teacher in this movie. Am i right ? or have i got confused with another movie.
hey by the way you know any links to download this movie for free
hey, the movie is indeed fab. and expressions, they epitomised their skills...cheers
saw it 3 years ago... and still remember some of its wonderful scenes
1953. Massachusetts. Wellesley College for Women. California-native professor, Katherine Watson, begins her first year at the ultra-conservative college where the main objective of the students is to receive an expensive education before getting married, having children, and settling into their precedent place in society. Katherine’s liberalist views are ill-received by her colleagues, but her students’ reactions are even more profound as she attempts to teach these hard headed, “proper” young ladies to look at the world around them with their own perspectives. Not only does she end up challenging the personal stories of some of the other main characters, but her voice also advocates general societal change as well.
Mike Newell took on a challenge in directing Mona Lisa Smile, and an interesting one at that. Women’s rights are still a much debated topic around the country and especially in women’s colleges and institutions. Technically-speaking, the production of the piece of craftily and carefully done. The lighting, costumes, camera angles and character development all demonstrate Newell competence in direction and production. The real problem with the movie was the script. So jam-packed with clichés, it was easy to guess how things would work out in the end, making it hard to stay interested in the plot. The script also attempted to cover a lot of themes at the same time, from student-teacher scandals, aesthetics, romance and marriage, bouncing around before deciding which one to stick with. This discontinuity made the plot confusing and at times frustrating because there was little focus on just one topic.
Despite the intended empowerment of the film, the discombobulated way Mona Lisa Smile addresses the role of women in the 1950’s is irritating and diverges from the assumed goal of the plot: to frown upon the uppity society that forced women to disregard themselves under the power of men during the aftermath of World War II. The film itself was inspired by an article written by Wellesley alumni, Hillary Clinton, in the 1960’s, and though edited to fiction, still gives off the aura of a stiff persuasive essay. Had writers Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal had the time, resources and the audience, the full story of these socially-prominent, marriage-driven Wellesley women could have been covered in about a four hour piece. A two hour fictional film is not nearly long enough to depict everything all at once. From the way the plot line jumps around, the audience is able to capture a little bit of each theme but nothing really solid. Konner and Rosenthal touch briefly on student-teacher relationships, both sexual and mentor-based, the study of aesthetics and who decides what good art is, the politics of contraception opportunities, romantic flings, and the social expectation for women to get married and start a family. A film with topics as big as this one should be produced as documentaries, or shortened to the observation of only one or two of the above themes.
Clichés and stereotypes also posed a bit of a problem for the direction of the plot. There were so many thrown together all at once that it was effortless to assume what each characters reaction would be, what she would say, and so on. Watson herself was set as the differential outsider, but there was also the tense, perfect student Joan, the seductive sexual active Giselle, the bitchy self-involved Betty, and the follower and funny girl Connie. The character development was well done, especially in the case of Julia Stiles’ character, Joan, but the growth of each of the women in the movie was not necessarily correlated to the themes themselves making the individualized characters seem almost pointless. Regarding characters, another interesting observation was that of Julia Robert’s character, Katherine, who did not speak, dress, act, nor look like any of the other characters and rather appeared to be a woman from the 1990’s thrust back in time to the middle of the 1950’s. Perhaps Newell intended for Watson’s character to be so out of whack with the rest of the northeast, but the discontinuity of the characters that breaks down the film’s suspension of disbelief was somewhat distracting and just odd.
Though well-made and politically correct, Mona Lisa Smile teeters on the edge between being a forgettable, fluff-filled chick flick and a knowledgeable, socially conscience film. What the film does manage to get across to the audience is thought provoking and surprising. Only fifty years ago women were set at standards completely different than that of men. They were expected to follow society’s demands and advocates like Katherine Watson were shunned. Ironically, the role of all women’s colleges today is for young women to be encouraged to be opinionated and self-sufficient, and not bombarded by the roles society expects.
I hv seen this movie too! Liked it a lot. The lines u hv quoted are amazing!!
GBU
Arti
I missed this movie...when it was launched couple of months back, I loved the promos and even remember searching for pirated DVD of this movie....but no luck..
I wanted to watch this movie for Julia :)
Anyway....seems like a cute one...will d/l it sometime....
Cheers!!!
it indeed is a gud movie
Post a Comment
<< Home