Factual error: When we hear Doris Day singing "Secret Love" the record we see on the turntable has an RCA Victor label visible/readable. Doris Day songs were released on Columbia Records.
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Mike Newell
Starring: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Although the college administrators disapprove of Katherine's views and teaching methods, they offer to extend her contract only if she will stick to a pre-approved curriculum. She refuses and resigns. Katherine also breaks off her relationship with Bill (Dominic West), the Italian teacher, when she discovers he lied about his past (he was never stationed in Italy during the war). Joan (Julia Stiles) is accepted to Yale Law School but, under pressure from her family and fiance, declines the offer of admission. Her fiance convinces her to elope. Betty (Kirstin Dunst) gets married, but soon discovers that her husband is cheating on her. She leaves him and moves to New York with Giselle (Maggie Gyllenhaal) with whom she is now friends. Connie (Ginnifer Goodwin), the rather plain girl who thinks she'll never be loved, gets together with the guy who dated her. She mistakenly thought he was only using her, but he loves her.
More mistakes in Mona Lisa Smile
Joan Brandwyn: You gave me a C.
Katherine Watson: I'm kind.
Joan Brandwyn: The assignment was to write about Bruegel. That's what I did.
Katherine Watson: No, what you did was copy Strauss.
Joan Brandwyn: I was referencing an expert.
Katherine Watson: If I wanted to know what he thought, I'd buy his book.
Trivia: In one scene Julia Roberts takes her students to see a painting by Jackson Pollack. Julia's co-star Marcia Gay Harden won her Academy Award playing Pollack's wife in the movie, "Pollack" opposite Ed Harris, who incidentally played Julia's boyfriend/fiance in "Stepmom". (00:45:20)
More questions & answers from Mona Lisa Smile
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Chosen answer: There is a short discussion (I believe between Kirsten Dunst and Julia Roberts) about things not always being what they seem. They are speaking about the girls' lives, but it also is symbolic of the Mona Lisa smile. Whether she is really smiling is left up to the person viewing the portrait: is she smiling because she is happy? Is she trying to cover up grief/sorrow? Is she smiling at all?
Macalou