Mona Lisa (1986)

Neil Jordan, the writer-director who brought audiences The Crying Game in 1992, created another dark, mysterious story Mona Lisa. In this film, Bob Hoskins stars as an ex-con who can't find work. His friend, Michael Caine, helps gets a job as a chauffeur to a call-girl, Cathy Tyson, but he has ulterior motives. As Bob and Cathy become friends, he gets involved in her seedy world and dangerous problems.Mona Lisa is a pretty upsetting movie, even though you might not be able to tell from the beginning. It feels like just a seedy drama, but by the end, you'll be extremely shaken up, and depending on how deeply you're affected, you might wipe away a tear. Bob Hoskins swept the Best Actor awards the next year, winning at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes, Cannes, Boston Critics, Kansas Critics, London Critics, Los Angeles Critics, New York Film Critics, Valladolid Festival, and National Society of Film Critics. Normally a character actor, Bob took command of the screen and owned his leading role. Even though he played a hardened ex-con, he was sensitive and felt a range of emotions deeply. At the Academy Awards, Bob lost the gold to Paul Newman's ridiculous, phoned-in performance in The Color of Money.If you can handle a heavy story set in a less-than-savory environment, you might want to check out Mona Lisa. It's not really the kind of film you'll love and want to watch over and over, but you'll be able to appreciate the acting. Let's put it this way: I own The Crying Game, but I could only handle watching Mona Lisa once.Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

This is a neo-noir crime drama film that's set in London and Brighton. It's about an ex-convict who works as the driver and bodyguard to a high-class call girl.The cast in this film act their parts very well. There is, however, a huge problem with Cathy Tyson's character, Simone. High-class call girls are highly attractive, but Simone isn't. In addition, call girls aren't under the control of violent, possessive pimps like Simone is - they're either independent or they work for agencies.

"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.

Viewers not conditioned to the rich Cockney slang will miss some of the flavor of this tense and emotional English drama, starring Bob Hoskins as a small time ex-con (with a heart of only slightly tarnished gold) hired to chaperone an elegant call girl through a midnight netherworld of London vice and corruption. The setting recalls some of the nightmare urban landscapes of Martin Scorsese, but the film resists any easy comparison by adding an element of compassion to the unsettling background of violence and pornography. The plot itself, concerning the search by a reluctant Hoskins and his companion for another missing girl, is more mystery than thriller, but not the parlor room whodunit of classic British mystery. This is a more complex mystery of human emotions, set amidst the wreckage of sexual exploitation. The only miscalculation is the sappy ballad (performed by pop rockers Phil Collins and Genesis) included strictly as a cosmetic filler and soundtrack album highlight.