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28 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
Complex Mystery for Adults, 2 March 2003
Author: Robert J. Maxwell (rmax304823@yahoo.com) from Deming, New Mexico, USA

Bob Hoskins made two widely popular movies in the 1980s and this was one of them. Having seen the other, "The Long Good Friday," I wasn't expecting too much but was pleasantly surprised. Hoskins, just out of the slams, is hired to drive a high-end black hooker, Cathy Tyson, from one wealthy client to another. He grows to care for her and when she asks him for a favor, find a strung-out young girl named Kathy, a former roomie of hers, he agrees. He searches the seedier places of London until he finally digs her up. She very young and very hooked. Robbie Coltrane is Hoskins' friend, and Michael Caine is a sort of procurer. The ending is both distressing and violent -- distressing because some of these characters are fully fleshed and we feel we've come to know them.

The film is quite nicely done. The score makes much use of Nat "King" Cole's ballad, Mona Lisa, evoking mystery, and it's appropriate. The composer has worked what seem to be endless variations of the first four notes of the theme into the score. We hear it in the background often, in minor key, or played exclusively on double bass, or burnished by horns. Those four notes insinuate themselves into the incidental music so often that a listener loses the sense that they are the introduction to a pop song and they come to have an ominous functional autonomy, disembodied from the simple tune that prompted it. They become their own song.

The acting is fine. Bob Hoskins is an essentially moral guy, short and unprepossesing, who first shows up on screen wearing an echt-1970s bell-bottomed leisure suit (he's been in for seven years, remember) and carrying a bouqet of flowers that his wife, berserk with anger, tells him what to do with. His gradual attraction to his passenger is nicely laid out, as are the reasons for his occasional displays of violence. He's a sensitive guy, but not too thoughtful. A lot of things get by him. But, to be fair, they get by the viewer too.

There's an element of humor running through the film, mostly expressed in the relationship between Hoskins and Coltrane, who plays a writer and a sculptor of things made of plastic spaghetti. ("The Japanese have cornered the market.") The dialogue is pretty funny in a low-key way. Hoskins and Coltrane sit watching TV and Hoskins remarks something like, "Remember that guy who was murdered? Well, I did it." Coltrane: "You're not joking?" Hoskins [turning and staring grimly]: "I -- never -- joke." Coltrane: "You used to tell that one about the randy gorilla." And here is Hoskins describing his passenger, telling Coltrane that she's not out to exploit him, Hoskins, because "she's a lady." Coltrane: "A lady? I thought you said she was a tart." Hoskins: "Well -- she is, but she's a f****** lady too." And Cathy Tyson almost beggars description, tall, slender, lithe, not staggeringly beautiful or sexy, but her appeal extends far beyond mere appearance. She's gorgeous in the most personal way. She tends to keep her face down and her eyes lowered, almost demurely, and her voice is soft and low, just above a whisper, although you never have to strain to hear what she's saying because her pronunciation is modulated and precise. It's soothing, in control and at the same time reassuring, the voice of an announcer on a late-night FM station playing nothing but classical music. You could listen to her for hours. You could look at her for hours too, for that matter. Michael Caine doesn't have a big or showy part, but he's so reliable that he's always a pleasure to see on screen. I can't think of a single film that has been damaged by his presence, although he's been in a few bummers.

The photography is perceptive. We get a good deal of local color not only from the London locations but from "the seaside," where everything comes to a head. There isn't a lot of violence. What there is of it is quick and pointed.

See it if you get the chance.

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23 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
Exceptionally good British film-making, 4 September 2003
Author: TC Raymond from England

MONA LISA is a complex, intriguing, multi-faceted combination of black comedy, love story, crime drama and adult thriller that demands repeated viewings in order to successfully peel back the various layers and get to the heart of the matter. What you find there is entirely up to you, but I believe it to be a sad and sensitive portrayal of a small-time crook trying to fit into a world that simultaneously rejects and baffles him following his belated release from prison. Hoskins, once again stunning in a role that could have been written for him, is never too naive and never too streetwise, more of an amiable combination of the two. There are obvious paralells to his unforgettable character in THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY - in that film, his character was a murderous thug who somehow remained worth caring about (largely by virtue of his utter confusion at the collapse of his criminal empire at the hands of forces unknown), whereas here, Hoskins' character is appealing because he displays an inner core of utmost decency - he seems shocked by the depths of depravity the underworld has stooped to in his absence, he is stunned by his ex-wife's refusal to let him see his daughter, and even the sight of his "tall, thin, black tart" (a brilliantly understated performance by Cathy Tyson) pleasuring an obese businessman with some light bondage leaves him disgusted and furious. In the film's latter stages, he simmers and seethes like a faulty pressure cooker, and having been by his side throughout his singularly upsetting voyage of discovery, we can share his rage and frustration.

If I had to pick fault with MONA LISA, then that fault lies in Robbie Coltrane's unconvincing performance as a wheeler-dealer who writes detective stories and sells plastic foodstuffs. It isn't Coltrane's fault that the character seems contrived and tacked on to the story just to make things a little more abstruse (one of director Neil Jordan's most consistent failings), but he seems to be plodding through his role indifferently, rather than living it the way Caine and Hoskins are. Nonetheless, MONA LISA is a very fine film and one that should be seen and digested by anyone with an interest in British crime cinema.

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20 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
True grit and grime, 7 December 1998
Author: nobita from Australia

This film is one of the best to have come out of Britain in the 1980's. Produced by Handmade Films, George Harrison's company, the film won several BAFTA awards and deservedly so. The film deals with an ex-con named George, played by Bob Hoskins who gives a fantastic performance, who is given a job by his old boss, Mortwell, as played by Michael Cain (another fantastic performance). George is now the chauffeur for a high-class prostitute and the story revolves around her educating him on the finer cuts of life with the result of him falling in love with her. It's a powerful film, showing the gritty side of the London underworld and it cannot go wrong with two of the best ever performances from the masters - Bob Hoskins and Michael Caine. These two men know how to play these roles. A true lesson for any actor.

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20 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
**** (Out of four), 11 October 1999
Author: halnexus from USA

"Mona Lisa" is one of those weird Neil Jordan dramedies which resound with more ferocity upon afterthought than while actually watching it. Like "The Crying Game", I was left with no immediate impression of the movie, but days after watching it, I became haunted by the film's ingratiating reality. You can tell you're watching a good movie when you can describe it as "atmospheric" without the film trying overtly to reach for that effect.

Bob Hoskins stars as George, and as we first see him, he is lulling along a dismal London apartment neighborhood with a plastic bag and a fistful of flowers. As he reaches his destination, the audience soon realizes what a heartbroken journey this man's life has been. Indeed his good intentions at seeing his wife and daughter are mired by the wife's stubborn, yet understandable reaction of slamming the door in her ex-convict husband's face.

Soon George is hired by the callous gangster Mortwell (Michael Caine) as a chauffeur for the high-class call girl Simone (Cathy Tyson). He is at first repelled by the "tall black tart", as she remarks about his slovenly appearance. In a subplot structured like a revisionist feminine "Pygmalion", George is made over by the prostitute into the appearance of a "gentleman", a contempestuous appearance which only magnifies his good-hearted nature in comparison with the cold-blooded Mortwell.

Soon, however, George and Simone strike a bond seemingly based on a mutual affection for the souls lurking beneath each facade. Simone details to George an old blonde friend named Cathy still working the streets and implores him to rescue her. Jordan builds upon the elements of "Taxi Driver" here and even pays homage to that film in one scene depicting the front end of George's automobile backlit by a seedy district filled with peep shows and pedophiles.

Of course George is starting to fall for his elegant charge, but his feelings are more of a fatherly nature than anything. Simone seems to feed off this affection, as she states that she does no more than drink tea at the behest of her clients and even provides snapshots of her doing so. This is why it comes as even more of a shock to George when he accidentally discovers a porn video featuring Simone at the provocation of things which her innocent demeanor had previously rendered him incapable of imagining.

Much of "Mona Lisa" is built around human desperation, and indeed one can sense that George, like Travis Bickle or Jimmy Stewart in "Vertigo", is attempting to erroneously place the puzzled-together image of the perfect woman into the jagged emotional contours of his love interest. Of course the title implies this, and Jordan reinforces this symbolization with not only the Da Vinci painting and the Nat "King" Cole ballad, but with the incandescent statues of the Virgin Mary which his friend (Robbie Coltrane) collects. This is unarguably Hoskins' best performance, in a career entirely overlooked by even the most driven of film fanatics. After roles in "The Long Good Friday", "Pink Floyd: The Wall", this, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", and the upcoming "Felicia's Journey", one can deduce the sheer emotional vicissitude which compelled him to aim for, let alone attain, the raw power that comprises his characters.

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16 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
"Well, let's say you're a lady. " - George (Bob Hoskins), 4 September 2005

Author: Michael Margetis (pmargetis@cox.net) from United States

Neil Jordan's 'Mona Lisa' is a great film that was sadly forgotten over time, even though Hoskins got an Oscar nomination for the film. 'Mona Lisa' follows a basically good guy whose made some bad choices George (Bob Hoskins) and his return from prison. Shunned from his wife and some of his old buddies, George feels kind of unwanted but gets a job from his old boss (Michael Caine) chauffeuring a call girl (Cathy Tyson) around at night. The call girl and George form a bond, while the story turns into violence, crime and George and the call girl's search for a young innocent teenage girl forced into prostitution. In my opinion, 'Mona Lisa' is one of Jordan's best films if not his best. Hoskins is absolutely amazing in his role, while Cathy Tyson and Michael Caine provide solid performances as well. Clarke Peters (who you may know as Detective Freeman from HBO's brilliant dramatic series 'The Wire') is also in this as Cathy Tyson's evil and psychotic pimp. For all you indie fans out there, rush to the Blockbuster near you to rent 'Mona Lisa' (make sure it's not 'Mona Lisa Smile', that movie is a tad bit different.) Most likely, you'll find a lot to enjoy and/or admire about this little British indie gem. Grade: B+

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15 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Beautifully Done!!!! A Must See!!!, 9 August 2005

Author: hokeybutt from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

MONA LISA (5 outta 5 stars) Every now and then I have to watch one of my favourite 5-star movies just to remember what a truly GREAT movie looks like. This is one of my all-time faves... with incredible, top-of-the-line performances from Bob Hoskins, Michael Caine (playing a scary bad guy) and Cathy Tyson. Hoskins plays George, just released from prison after taking the rap meant for his old boss, Mortwell (Caine). Mortwell knows he owes George something but doesn't really think that much of his criminal talents so he gets George a job driving one of his high-class prostitutes (Tyson) from job to job. Soon, George is smitten with this tough, gutsy lady-of-the-streets. Simone, sensing that George is a kind-hearted soul who will do anything for her, gets him to try and track down another young hooker friend of hers who has gone missing. George finds the young woman, incurring the wrath of Mortwell and setting himself him for an emotional upheaval at the film's climax. Masterfully done with great dialogue. The film manages to be funny, heartrending, violent and romantic... sometimes all in one scene.

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12 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
An 80s classic, 28 November 2009

Author: mark-whait from United Kingdom

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.

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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Mona Lisa made me smile more then "Mona Lisa Smiles" which, ironically made me frown, 1 May 2004
Author: movieman_kev from United States

George (Bob Hoskins) newly out after a stint in prison, agrees to chauffeur Simone (Cathy Tyson) "a tall, black, tart". At first they hate each other, but things can change. So when Simone asks George to find a friend of hers that she lost contact with, he dives into the sordid, underbelly of the sex/prostitution underworld. This film was an unexpected treat, knowing next to nothing about it, save for the fact that I admire Bob Hoskins, Micheal Caine, and Robbie Coltrane all. Cathy Tyson was merely ok in the film & sadly Coltrane is pretty much wasted as Thomas. But both Hoskins and Caine are superb. Sadly, in America at least, Bob Hoskins is known to the non-cinema masses as merely Eddie from "What ever happened to Roger Rabbit?" & "That guy from Hook". This is a shame, as he's an amazing actor

My Grade: A

Where i saw it: Sundance channel

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11 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Touching and Hard Hitting., 24 October 2006

Author: Tom Cottey from United Kingdom

'Mona Lisa' is a distinctly British film. In many ways it is like the social realist films of the 1960's and early 70's. The attitude taken by Neil Jordan towards the film is worth crediting, the fact that he doesn't turn it into a simple romance is refreshing, and just as it seems to be leaning that way he throws the audience in a totally different direction.

The performances are great all round. This film is another example of just how good many British actors are, and it also serves to show how disappointing the state of our countries film industry is. When films this good are produced with this much talent British film makers shouldn't have to struggle as much as they do to get films made. Bob Hoskins was nominated for an Oscar for the role of George, and was well and truly deserving of it. His performance is subtle and sensitive at times and unflinching and painful to watch at others. He is a well and truly likable character, despite his flaws, made very real by Hoskins. Michael Caine again plays a nasty piece of work, like his character in 1971's 'Get Carter'. While Caine is capable of playing characters the audience love he is also capable of doing the complete opposite and he definitely achieves that here. The sense of class that Cathy Tyson brings to the screen in this film is perfect. She plays a prostitute, Simone, but we get a sense of respectability from her for the majority of the film. She appears desperate to be a lady despite her work, and this fits well with Hoskins portrayal of his blokey and rather 'tacky' character.

Cinematography throughout the film is similar to the style seen in other British films, it's often rather drab, the film isn't in widescreen (at least the version I watched wasn't) nor is the framing of the camera particularly exciting. The lack of attractive cinematography can to an extent put viewers off, but I believe that this type of image is part of the point, it reflects the lives of the characters. There were, however, points where I thought the cinematography was highly effective, particularly where Hoskins' and Tyson's characters are attacked by Anderson in the lift.

The scripting and editing of the end of the film works well, you can feel the pace quicken suddenly, as if to say "right, its time to be an active audience". This idea if dealt with badly could go wrong and let the rest of the film down but it doesn't here and it's instead makes for an far more interesting ending that could have been otherwise. It is also uncompromisingly brutal and hard hitting, which is what I prefer to see from a drama, it's not simply run-of-the-mill.

'Mona Lisa' seems, to some extent be a very British 'Taxi Driver'. It seems a strange comparison to make in some ways as the films are so incredibly different in many ways, but the comparison is definitely there and can clearly be seen at the same time. This is not to say that Hoskins' George is anything like De Niro's Travis Bickle, he is not. 'Mona Lisa' is the type of films that I can imagine lingering with the viewer for some time. It's touching and hard hitting, like the best dramas. It comes highly recommended.

7/10

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8 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Almost great modern noir, 24 April 2005

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

Mona Lisa is an interesting predecessor to Neil Jordan's later masterpiece 'The Crying Game'. Taking in many of the same themes as the later film, such as the nature of love, affection and doing what's right, Mona Lisa is an update of the classic film noir tradition that also has obvious ties with other genres such as crime, romance and even comedy. One famous film that I would liken this one to is the Martin Scorsese classic 'Taxi Driver', as the two films deal with similar issues and follow a similar structure, but Mona Lisa distances itself from the classic 70's movie because it has a very obvious heart at it's centre. The characterisation in the film is really well done, and it's obvious that writers Neil Jordan and David Leland care a lot about the characters in the movie. The events of the film are almost all a result of character actions, and the plot follows George; an ex-convict who has just been released from prison. He is given a job ferrying a high-priced call girl around her various jobs. What George doesn't count on is that the contempt he feels for her will turn into affection.

Like The Crying Game before it, Mona Lisa is a down and dirty, gritty movie and this styling does the film no end of favours when it comes to portraying the plot. The movie's style bodes well with the themes on display, and it also serves in giving it an edge of realism. However, the film's main downfall is that, while the atmosphere is realistic, the acting largely isn't. Neil Jordan doesn't appear to know how to pull a convincing performance from his stars, especially the female ones, as a lot of the dialogue is delivered in a very forced and phoney sounding manner; and it can get uncomfortable to view at times. Bob Hoskins does well at the film's core, and what I said about the acting can't always be applied to his performance; but there are definitely moments when holes begin to appear with him too. Also, like Jordan's masterpiece, the film's soundtrack is sometimes off-cue, and certain songs would have bee better off not being chosen for the soundtrack. However, all of the film's flaws can be forgiven when the film reaches it's explosive conclusion, as it's the perfect end to the film as it allows all of the characters to fully mature, and Bob Hoskins in particular shines at the climax. On the whole, Mona Lisa is a flawed, but still highly admirable piece of work.

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