A conservative 1950s girls' school receives an unconventional addition to its teaching staff in the form of a free-spirited, bohemian art historian. Unfortunately, her fellow teachers frown on her newfangled ideas, while most of the students have no greater ambition in life than landing a rich husband. Drama, starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Katherine Watson is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students, including Betty and Joan, to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.