Factual error: A hard pack of Winston cigarettes is shown, but these were not available in 1953.
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Plot summary
Directed by: Mike Newell
Starring: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Katherine Watson lands her dream job as an art teacher at the prestigious all-girls Wellsley College. However, her liberal views are out of place in the conservative1950s. She not only butts heads with college administrators who object to progressive ideas, but also with some ultra-conservative students who firmly believe a woman’s role is to be a wife and mother.
More mistakes in Mona Lisa Smile
Staunton's Secretary: I was in California once. How do you get any work done with all that sunshine?
Katherine Watson: We tan in class.
Trivia: In one scene, Julia Roberts takes her students to see a painting by Jackson Pollock. Julia's co-star Marcia Gay Harden won her Academy Award playing Pollock's wife in the movie "Pollock," opposite Ed Harris, who incidentally played Julia's boyfriend/fiancé in "Stepmom." (00:45:20)
Question: The lady that plays Julia Stile's mother looks remarkably like Swoozie Kurtz. Any relation?
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Answer: I can not find any reference to Joan Brandwyn's mother. I do not remember seeing her. Perhaps you are thinking of Mrs. Warren, Kirsten Dunst's mother in the film. She is played by Donna Mitchell. I have been unable to find a connection between the two.