This suits both Pauline and Posy just fine as the former has her eye on the stage and the latter wants only to be a ballet dancer, but for Petrova it's a complete disaster as she'd much rather be an auto mechanic or, best of all, learn to fly. One of things that makes the school so attractive is that it actively seeks employment for its students. No matter how hard Sylvia tries to hide it from the girls, they are perfectly aware of their tight financial straits which makes them all desperate to win roles in performances. Everyone is thrilled when Pauline lands the lead in a production of Alice In Wonderland until it goes to her head and she starts giving herself airs. In a harsh lesson in reality she finds out soon enough that no one is irreplaceable when she pushes it too far one night and is sacked.
Not only is she devastated personally, but she also has to accept the fact that because of her selfishness she has jeopardized her family as well. Throughout the movie there are times when each of the girls, and their "aunt" as well, comes face to face with reality in a way that's not pleasant for them. None of these lessons are particularly nice or heartwarming, nor do they automatically become better people because of them, but what they are is very real.
When Petrova forces herself to take acting roles because she knows they need the money desperately, instead of getting all warm and fuzzy inside because she has learnt about the nobility of sacrifice, she learns its true cost in terms of resentment, tears, and pain. When Pauline suggests that they should audition for another show together, she is shocked by Petrova's violent and tearful reaction, and her vow never to set foot upon the stage again. Her ambition has blinded her to her sister's unhappiness, and it shocks her that she could have been that callous.
Needless to say the acting in the film is exemplary, as everybody from the boarders taken in by Sylvia to the children do a wonderful job in their parts. Nobody strikes a false note, or does anything that upsets the delicate balance the director Sandra Goldbacher has created to prevent the movie from becoming manipulative or mawkish. The only time that the movie deviates from its firm grip on reality is the ending, which wraps everything up in a package with a bow a little too conveniently, but I have to assume that's how the book ended as well so she probably couldn't do too much about it.
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