Mona Lisa (1986)

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Facing limited employment prospects after a long stint in jail, a British gangster accepts a job as chauffeur to a high class call girl and eventually agrees to help the young woman search for a teen prostitute friend in this human drama from Neil Jordan. The film is best known nowadays as the movie that scored Bob Hoskins his only ever Oscar nomination and his performance is the main reason why the film works. His character is, after all, written as a little bit too much of an innocent naïve for credibility. His complete shock at the perversions of the call girl's clients is unrealistic; same goes for the way he expects his former crime boss to bend over backwards for him simply because he went to jail because he once covered up for him. As mentioned though, Hoskins is excellent in the main role though and manages to give a warm humanity to this hardened yet idealistic and hardly cynical man; his strained relationship with his teenage daughter hits all the right notes too. The film additionally has a surefire interesting twist as Hoskins finds out the real reason why the call girl is so desperate to find her former friend - a twist that comes across extra powerfully since it highlights just how out of touch Hoskins really is with the seedy world around him in which everybody has an ulterior motive almost all the time. Despite his high billing, Michael Caine appears in just a handful of scenes and only makes a limited impression, but in addition to Hoskins, Cathy Tyson (as the call girl) and Robbie Coltrane (as the closest Hoskins has to a real friend) offer fine performances too.

From BAFTA nominated director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, Michael Collins, The Brave One), I knew the leading British actor of this film, but nothing else about it, I hoped it would be good. Basically smalltime criminal George (BAFTA and Golden Globe winning, and Oscar nominated Bob Hoskins) has been released having served a seven-year prison sentence, but his time in prison has lowered reduced his stature in the criminal underworld, and his ex-wife will not allow him to talk to his daughter. Unable to find work his friend Thomas (Robbie Coltrane) explains the realities and changes in the neighbourhood, then his former boss, local kingpin Mortwell (Sir Michael Caine), hires him to work as a driver, and driving his returned Jaguar he drives and is bodyguard to high-class call girl Simone (BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Cathy Tyson). At first George is a misfit for the position driving Simone from customer to customer, he does not get on well with her, but gradually they form a friendship, and slowly he develops an unrequited love and affection for her. Simone looks for prostitute Cathy (Kate Hardie) on the streets of the King's Cross district (red light district of London in the 1980s), she asks George to help find her abused friend from the past. This becomes a quest filled with danger and violence, George is chased by dangerous pimp Anderson (Clarke Peters), and he is a huge amount of trouble with Mortwell, and it gets worse when George finds Cathy and discovers the true nature of the relationship between her and Simone. Also starring Zoë Nathenson as Jeannie, Sammi Davis as May, Rod Bedall as Terry, Joe Brown as Dudley, Pauline Melville as George's Wife, EastEnders' Perry Fenwick as Pimp, Kenny Baker as Brighton Busker and Jack Purvis as Brighton Busker. I can only assume the title is related to the leading female character, because you can never tell her true expression, oh, and there's the song "Mona Lisa" by Nat "King" Cole played as well. Hoskins gives a fantastic aggressive performance as well as some more tender moments, Tyson is good as the emotionally damaged hooker, and Caine is good with his time on screen being quite sinister, it is a simple story of a man falling in love with a woman, but there are twists along the way as she and situations becomes much more complicated, there is a fair amount of violence and thuggery, and it is both thrilling and moving in the right places, it's a terrific crime drama. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Film, Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Screenplay. Very good!

"Mona Lisa" is a moving and memorable combination of the British crime film and the character study, produced by George Harrison's company Handmade Films, and serves as a showcase for some very impressive performances. Top billed Bob Hoskins, in particular, in his Best Actor Academy Award nominated performance, is the person we follow through a convincing depiction of the seamy underbelly of London, a land populated by pimps, prostitutes, and mobsters such as the nasty Mortwell, played by Michael Caine. Hoskins's George is a low level mob member getting out of prison after spending seven years there, emerging into a world unfamiliar to him. He's given the initially thankless task of acting as chauffeur for high class prostitute Simone, played by the lovely and amazing Cathy Tyson. But before very long, they start warming up to each other, and the balance of the movie charts their evolving relationship. Ultimately George decides to do Cathy a favour by finding a long lost acquaintance of hers, but this leads to less than ideal circumstances for all involved. Director Neil Jordan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David Leland, has created a compelling if deliberately paced drama that's much more character driven than action oriented, although there are some brief bursts of violence here and there. The film also has quite the sense of humour at times, much of it coming from the engaging Robbie Coltrane as George's good friend Thomas. Thomas likes to create art using plastic spaghetti (!), and there is a nice light touch brought to all scenes with Hoskins and Coltrane, which prevents this story from ever being too much of a downer, although for the most part "Mona Lisa" is grim and gritty stuff, with fairy tale and film noir elements emphasized. By the end, George realizes how much he's been manipulated by his femme fatale Simone. Jordan completely pulls us into this vivid environment, and gets nice supporting performances from Kate Hardie as Cathy, Zoe Nathenson as Jeannie, and Sammi Davis as May, as well as a sufficiently slimy portrayal by Clarke Peters ('The Wire') as vicious pimp Anderson. (Trivia note: look for Kenny Baker, always to be best known as R2-D2 in the "Star Wars" franchise, as a boardwalk busker.) Fine music by Michael Kamen is a plus, as well as soundtrack selections including Nat King Cole's performances of "When I Fall in Love" and the title tune. Worth seeing for fans of the crime film and of the cast & crew, "Mona Lisa" is potent entertainment. Eight out of 10.

Mona Lisa is a classic 80s low budget thriller that combines raw power with an emotional storyline resulting in an acting masterclass from a virtually faultless cast. Bob Hoskins is mesmerising from the very opening seconds of the film, playing lonely naive chancer George. He has just been released from prison after 7 years for taking the rap for a crime committed by local gangland boss Denny Mortwell (Michael Caine). Caine soon gets George back on the payroll, as an exclusive chauffeur for high class call girl Simone (Cathy Tyson). But George helplessly falls for Simone and gets sucked into her secret agenda for trawling London's seedy underworld - mainly prostitution. The film is a masterpiece from director Neil Jordan - easily his best work to date and has never been bettered - and the cast benefit greatly from an impeccable script. Jordan's ear for dialogue is never more evident than here - especially in Geroge's conversations with his only true friend Thomas (Robbie Coltrane). Anyone who thought Hoskins couldn't better his performance in The Long Good Friday in 1979 should take a look at this. He is simply astonishing and your eyes never leave a single scene he is in. But no review would be complete without paying tribute equally to the unearthed gem that is Cathy Tyson. Bearing in mind she was barely 20 when this movie was shot, she is incredible opposite Hoskins and whilst she has had more of a TV career since, it is surprising (and perhaps a shame) that she has never had perhaps the vehicle or opportunity to scale such heights again. However, Kate Hardie is also deserving of special mention as a fellow hooker, and her great portrayal in this movie has shamefully been totally overlooked over the years. Caine's cameo appearance is also menacingly good, and he plays the seedy villain with chilling ease. Throw in the great location work around London's Soho and Brighton, and a great tune from Genesis, and you get a presentation every bit as high class as Tyson's Simone is meant to be.