Roberts' latest a 'Dead Poets Society' for women

Some critics have described Mona Lisa Smile as the Dead Poets Society for women. \nFortunately, I was given the opportunity to decide for myself during a sneak preview, and although the movie contains some parallels to Dead Poets Society, the story of Mona Lisa Smile is not only an educational story, but a more uplifting one as well. \nThe story takes place in New England in 1953 and centers on the renowned all-women's Wellesley College. Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a free-spirited educator from California, arrives at Wellesley College to begin teaching an art history course for the upcoming academic year. While there, Watson befriends Nancy Abbey (Marcia Gay Harden), a professor of etiquette at Wellesley, who also offers Watson a place to stay while she teaches. \nWhen she arrives at her first class, she soon becomes intimidated by the students. After they named the artist, title, significance and time period to all of the paintings she was to discuss in class, Watson then realizes that she needs not to re-educate them about what they have read in their required texts but allow them to think freely about art and the different meanings it can posses. \nWatson's liberal method of teaching surely stirs up controversy not only within the Wellesley faculty but in the student body as well. Watson challenges the ideals and the conformities of the domesticated housewife, which makes her presence stand out not only within the institution but within the era as well. \nMona Lisa Smile not only includes an outstanding lead actor (Roberts) but also a stellar supporting cast including Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dominic West (Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phanton Menace, 28 Days), Topher Grace ("That '70s Show") and even a cameo from Tori Amos as a ballroom singer. \nI wouldn't be surprised if Roberts received an Oscar nomination for playing Watson, nor would I be surprised if Dunst, Stiles or Gyllenhaal received a nomination for a supporting role as well. The supporting cast shows potential in becoming "Roberts-level" superstars in the future. I was especially surprised with and delighted by Gyllenhaal's performance as the free-minded, promiscuous student Giselle Levy. Perhaps it is because she isn't as well known an actor as Stiles and Dunst, but this role could possibly be her "big break" as a mainstream Hollywood star.