Mona Lisa smile.
Hello little lucky person,
How was your week? I hope it was greater than mine; it
isn’t that my week was a complete disaster but it in some aspects it was
awfully tedious, I can say that if I hadn’t a best friend I wouldn’t support
certain things. But now I’m here, writing at home, in front of the computer trying
to get the inspiration with music (Shine
a light of Mcfly) to not disappoint you with my second critic.
My next critic is going to be about the Mona Lisa smile movie and I’ve to tell
you that although in my two first movies which I’ve made a critic of Julia
Roberts is starring, I’m not an admirer of her, it’s just that I’m going to try
something to make me easier the selection of the movie which it’s going to be
analyzed: in the first critic I talked about August: Osage county starring Meryl Streep and Ms Roberts therefore
my second post is about a film in which Julia R. performs, so the next post
could be about a film in which Kristen Dunst or Maggie Gyllenhaal act because
they appeared also in the Mona Lisa smile.
What do you prefer The Dark Night or
Spiderman? I let you decide.
Why I
watched it?
It was a Wednesday. I had just arrived at home after
being at the University and I turned on the TV to see what they were passing
on. I found this movie and I decided to watch it therefore it wasn’t something
deliberated, just causality.
Original
title: Mona Lisa smile.
Duration:
117min.
Director:
Mike Newell.
Screenwriter:
Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal.
Country:
EE.UU.
Genre:
comedy drama.
Year:
2003.
Cast:
Julia Roberts, Kristen Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dominic West,
Juliet Stevenson, Marcia Gay Harden and Topher Grace.
Summary: A modern woman of the
1950’s called Katherine Watson (Roberts) is hired as an art history teacher at
the prestigious Wellesley College. She though that she was going to make
changes and be useful for those young bright women who, for what it seems, go
to the college to pass the time while they’re waiting to get engaged , but one
of her conservative students, Betty Warren(Dunst), will make her arise herself
if it’s worth.
First
impression: it’s obvious
why they chose Julia Roberts.
Second
impression: how cruel
people can be when someone is different and disagrees with them.
Art. What it’s in reality art? It isn’t just paints
neither music nor cinema, it’s more like a way of life. Each one has its own manner
of express it and just talking about what you think or sharing your opinion
you’re making art, the art of live. But what happens when someone tells you
what to do, how to do it, where, when but never why. You’re imitating and
pretending to be someone else, and at the end you believe that you’re this
strange person. From my point of view this is the main topic of the movie. I
think that the character of Julia is an art teacher and not a professor who
teaches other subject for some reason. It’s like if they want to tell us that
the only one who is being really herself is Katherine Watson. They make art be
a symbol of individuality and freedom which fits with Roberts’ role. She’s the
responsible to make these girls who aren’t convince with that role that they’re
going to have in the future, realize that they’re created not only to be a
perfect wife who takes care of her children and husband and does all the
housework but that they can think for themselves. And this is the type of art
that she’s teaching them, it’s true that they talk about famous painters and
photographers but once again like symbols. Those who painted and made photos
weren’t meant to do that task but it was a result of them doing what they
wanted.
One of the key scenes that shows for what way the
topic is directing is the one when Betty tells her mother that she doesn’t care
if her fiancé reads a poem on their wedding day or not, and the answer of her
mother is that she has to control her soon-to-be husband the earlier the better.
And Betty does as her mother wants, she manipulates him so he thinks that the
poem idea was him and he reads the poem that the own Betty has written.
About Julia Roberts and Kristen Dunst.
Two women who are apparently so different and detest
each other but that have some similitudes:
They’ve strong personalities though the one of Dunst’s
character is directed and influenced by her mother and the one of Roberts’
character is a result of her developed skills. They can control their lives, if
they want to. They aren’t sure about what they were meant for. In one word,
they’re insecure.
They’re like a coin which has two faces: conservative
and liberalist. And at the end there isn’t a better face as a result of the
deficiencies that both of them have. If there is a balance between these two is
Joan Brandwyn (Stiles) the one who obtains the better of the two lifes, a
husband and studies because she doesn’t let her teacher neither her friend
decide by her, she makes her own choices to don’t have regrets later on.
Surprise?
Maggie Gyllenhaal was a fabulous surprise. I had seen
some films of her brother (Jake Gyllenhaal) and I supposed that all the talent
would have gone to him and that she would just be okay in the role but she
surprised me greatly.
The worst.
At some points the rhythm is slower and that hinders
the narration’s fluency. Some characters aren’t very well defined.
The best.
I’d like to say that the best thing that the movie
offers is Julia Roberts’ performance but I can’t lie. She did it great and
wonderful, of course, but Kristen Dunst was much better than her, I’m sure that
she made a perfect performance. Maybe it has to do about her role whose fond I
like more than Julia’s, I don’t know. But I’m happy to say that after watching
this movie I won’t see her just like “Mary Jane” or the supporting actress
because being in second plan she knows how to impress and to stand out.
Mark:
8
Remember that this is my opinion, so it isn’t
necessary that it concurs with yours.
That’s all!
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