Matcollis
This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
SteinMo
What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.
Catangro
After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Cassandra
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Isaac Wang
As soon as Julia came in, I knew she would be a revolutionist in the film. I am not saying that is bad but it is easy to guess. It is not easy to fully enjoy the way how people think in old days, so I guess the director has modernised the conflicts as much as he can so what we can see in the film is kind of in between - a bit old but not that much.
info-3508
Women deserve better movies than this. Vapid, superficial. Some moments play out like a Julia Roberts' photo-op: teeth, smile, pout, tears. Emoting is not enough. One never gains a sense that Katherine Watson experiences any personal connection or passion for the subject she teaches. Characters are more like advertisement than three dimensional. Lacking depth. As if stereotypes could replace meaningfulness. Could have been a compelling movie that captured an era and expressed real stories of real women. Ginnifer Goodwin is the better part of this disaster. Would love to see an authentic treatment of the subject, which would require inquiry with actual people of the period. Disappointing. Missed opportunity.
jakerresq
Preachy vehicle that takes setting up a straw man to new level. Could this (Wellesley) possibly be the college that a mere decade later would hatch Alinsky inspired Hillary Rodham? The trustees must be turning over in their graves. OK, the fifties were a long way from the tumultuous sixties (See: Sixty Stanzas For The Sixties), but this mindless bunch of zombies (and their modern day sexually obscure Jeanne Brody) would never have gained entrance to this high achieving albeit elite institution.I'm a guy who likes a lot of "chick flicks" and finds the phrase dismissive and unfair, but not for this one. Run guys run.
SnoopyStyle
It's 1953, Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) is a California girl hired as an Art History teacher at the conservative all girls Wellesley College. The students are all from upper crust families, top academically, and aiming to get marry.There are top talented actors in this movie. The girls are Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Ginnifer Goodwin. That's some acting power. The oddest thing acting wise has to be the subdue performance of Julia Roberts. She starts off timidly which just doesn't fit her persona. Her energy is literally vibrating as she tries to squash it down. Instead of a slice of life, it feels more like a magazine article about a slice of life.Without more realism or more tension, the story just doesn't have the zip. One problem may be the fact that everything is about marriage. It is the era of the movie, but just superficially old fashion. Maybe director Mike Newell should emphasize more the pressure of the day. Instead he assumes the audience feels this automatically. He definitely needs to build up the tension. He needs more scenes like the one with Kirsten Dunst and her mother.
