#monalisasmile

Mona Lisa Morphing GIF

https://youtu.be/UiPZqRBso8Y

Düşüncələrinizi qəliblərə öyrəşdirməyin, çünki nəyi necə düşünəcəyinizi söyləyəcək dərs kitabı mövcud deyil. Və başqaları üçün dəyişmək, birmənalı olaraq özünə qarşı yalan söyləmək deməkdir. Özünə qarşı yalan söyləmək isə, heç bir zaman bir insan kimi var ola bilməməyə ən böyük səbəbdir.

Katherine Watson, Mona Lisa Smile(2003)

Most would describe Mona Lisa Smile as a charming, uplifting story. I say while it shows intelligence and promise at first, it eventually degenerates into basic soap-opera romance and abandons the ideas it set up at the beginning. It's not a good film.

Set in 1953, Ann Watson (Julia Roberts) arrives at the Wellesley College to teach "History of Art" but is dismayed when she learns all of her students already know the syllabus by heart. Upset at first, she decides to introduce revolutionary ideas in the classroom. She asks “What differentiates good art from bad art?”; “Who decides which artist is worth merit, and which one is a hack?” and, among other things “What message will the women of the 1950s give to the generations that follow them?” The board of approval is uneasy. Making the situation even more problematic is the daughter of the head of the Alumnae Association, Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst) and the flirtations of the Italian professor, Bill (Dominic West).

It lures you in with the promise of intelligent questions that need to be answered. Few of the women Watson encounters seem interested in anything besides eventually finding a husband and pumping out a litter of children. She sets out to show these bright young minds that there is a lot more to life. We’ve got an all-star cast of great female actresses (Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, among others) and a very charismatic lead. Then, the movie switches. Director Mike Newell treats us like the women of the classroom, who become disinterested with their studies and the ideas they learn in school as soon as the prospects of romance come around the corner. The film last two hours and the majority is dedicated to a slew of seen-it-before, predictable plot developments. The grouchy board of administrators sees Watson's inspirational teaching methods as unorthodox, something to be stamped out immediately! She is ridiculed by the snooty prim-and-propers and finds that her job is threatened because of what she believed in. If only they could understand; her way of connecting with the patients through humor is a good thing. Oh wait, that’s Patch Adams. I meant "if only they could see how her rebellious attitude is helping her connect with the young minds of the future and that the rebellious act of standing up on the desk and rejecting archaic material isn't a way to sow anarchy, but to inspire the students. My mistake, that Dead Poets Society. What were we talking about again?

Mona Lisa Smile isn't interested in actually showing art and discussing the subject. This would've been original. Instead, settling on regurgitating the predictable tale of the ice-cold veterans having to thaw out and embrace these new-fangled “original ideas”.

Although most of the women's stories (both the students' and the teacher's) eventually take romantic or dramatic paths based around them marrying, not marrying or trying to find a man, the characters are well developed. The film shows these women as people from a different time, with different ideals than today. Every student is distinct from one another and their dynamics are complex. The performances are quite good. It makes the time they spend talking about the men they're fawning over frustrating. You know they'd have interesting ideas about the classroom material Watson is giving them! Maybe I came in with the wrong expectations. I don't think I'll be the only one who grows increasingly disappointed with Mona Lisa Smile as it trots along, however. For a movie that talks a whole lot about breaking the mold and trying new things, going off into different directions and making its own choices, it plays it way too safe and way too conventional.

Mona Lisa Smile has nice moments, particularly when its large female cast is discussing the choice to follow society’s norms or to be rebellious. Unfortunately, these are mere blips. You deserve better; find a movie that’s a real deal. An original! Not just the same plot-lines you’ve seen before. (On DVD, October 11, 2014)