Mona Lisa is a 1986 British neo-noir[4] crime drama film about an ex-convict who becomes entangled in the dangerous life of a high-class call girl. The film was written by Neil Jordan and David Leland, and directed by Jordan. It was produced by HandMade Films and stars Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, and Michael Caine.
| Mona Lisa | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Neil Jordan |
| Written by | Neil Jordan David Leland |
| Produced by | Stephen Woolley |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Roger Pratt |
| Edited by | Lesley Walker |
| Music by | Michael Kamen |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Palace Pictures[1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £2 million[2] or £2.4 million[3] |
| Box office | £4,107,000 (UK)[3] |
The film was nominated for multiple awards, and Bob Hoskins was nominated for several awards for his performance (including the Academy Award for Best Actor), winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The film seems to take its title from the song "Mona Lisa" heard during the end credits.
Plot
editGeorge, a low-level working-class gangster recently released after seven years in prison, is given a job in London by his former boss, Denny Mortwell, as the driver and bodyguard for a high-priced prostitute named Simone. Mortwell also wants George to gather information on one of Simone's wealthy customers for blackmail purposes. Simone, who has worked hard to develop high-class manners and an elite clientele, initially dislikes the uncouth and outspoken George, and he regards her as putting on airs. But as George and Simone find out more about each other, they form a friendship, and George begins to fall in love with her. George agrees, at the risk of his own life, to help Simone find her teenage friend Cathy, who has disappeared, and who Simone fears is being abused by her violent former pimp, Anderson.
George increasingly finds himself torn between his feelings for Simone, his obligations to his boss Mortwell, and his relationship with his teenage daughter Jeannie, a sweet normal girl who has matured while he was in prison and wants to have her father in her life.
When Anderson stalks Simone to her flat and tries to slash her, George takes her to the secluded garage where he lives with his friend Thomas and then finds the drug-addled Cathy. He takes the two girls to a hotel in Brighton and gives Simone a gun for protection, but then discovers that the pair are lovers. When Mortwell and Anderson arrive to take back control of the girls, Simone shoots them both dead and turns her gun towards George. He punches her, takes the gun and leaves. Freed of his underworld obligations, he returns to a more normal life, working in Thomas's garage and spending time with Jeannie.
Cast
edit- Bob Hoskins as George
- Cathy Tyson as Simone
- Michael Caine as Denny Mortwell
- Robbie Coltrane as Thomas
- Clarke Peters as Anderson
- Kate Hardie as Cathy
- Zoë Nathenson as Jeannie
- Sammi Davis as May
- Rod Bedall as Terry
- Joe Brown as Dudley
- Pauline Melville as George's Wife
- Hossein Karimbeik as Raschid
- John Darling as hotel security
- Maggie O'Neill as girl in Paradise Club
- Bryan Coleman as Gentleman in mirror room
- Robert Dorning as hotel bedroom man
- Perry Fenwick as pimp
Reception
editThe film received positive critical reception when released in 1986. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote of the two main characters "The relationship of their characters in the film is interesting, because both people, for personal reasons, have developed a style that doesn't reveal very much."[5] Halliwell's Film Guide argued "only this actor could make a hit of this unsavoury yarn, with its highlights of sex and violence. But he did."[6] Vincent Canby, writing for The New York Times, dismissed the film as "classy kitsch... as smooth and distinctive (and, ultimately, as insubstantial) as the old Nat (King) Cole recording of the song, which gives the film its title and a lot of its mood."[7]
On Metacritic, Mona Lisa has a score of 85 out of 100 based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[8] That of Time Out called it "a wonderful achievement, a dark film with a generous heart in the shape of an extraordinarily touching performance from Hoskins."[citation needed]
On Rotten Tomatoes, Mona Lisa holds a "Certified Fresh" 98% rating based on forty reviews. The site's consensus states: "Bob Hoskins is outstanding in Mona Lisa, giving this stylish neo-noir a riveting centerpiece that sets it apart from similar stories."[9]
Accolades
editBob Hoskins was praised for his performance and was awarded the Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, Prix d'interprétation masculine at the Cannes Film Festival, and other awards. Despite this heavy acclaim, he lost the Academy Award for Best Actor to Paul Newman in The Color of Money.[citation needed]
See also
edit- BFI Top 100 British films
- Trinity Court, Gray’s Inn Road, film location
References
edit- ^ "Mona Lisa (1986)". BBFC. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ Alexander Walker, Icons in the Fire: The Rise and Fall of Practically Everyone in the British Film Industry 1984–2000, Orion Books, 2005 p. 54 [ISBN missing]
- ^ a b "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 26.
- ^ Philip French (26 July 2015). "The Long Good Friday/Mona Lisa review – captivating visions of London's underworld". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (2 July 1986) "Review: Mona Lisa" Chicago Sun-Times (Retrieved: 6 July 2021)
- ^ Halliwell's Film Guide, 13th edition. ISBN 978-0-00-638868-5.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (13 July 1986) "Movie Review: Mona Lisa (1986)". The New York Times (Retrieved: 12 March 2010)
- ^ "Mona Lisa". Metacritic.com.
- ^ "Mona Lisa | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
External links
edit- Mona Lisa at IMDb
- Mona Lisa at the BFI's Screenonline
- Mona Lisa at AllMovie
- Mona Lisa at Rotten Tomatoes
- Mona Lisa at Box Office Mojo
- Essay by Neil Jordan at the Criterion Collection
- Mona Lisa at Metacritic
