Mona Lisa (1986) – Film Review

Director: Neil Jordan
Cast: Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Robbie Coltrane
Certificate: 18

By Sarah Morgan

Bob Hoskins was no stranger to the world of gangsters – on the big screen, at least.

Five years after starring in The Long Good Friday, one of the greatest crime thrillers ever made in Britain, he returned to the genre with Mona Lisa, although rather than being a ruthless boss desperate to go legit by redeveloping London’s Docklands, he’s George, a footsoldier recently released from prison after taking the fall for someone else.

George wants to get his life back on track, particularly by rebuilding his relationship with his now-teenage daughter, but he finds the world is a very different place to the one he knew before he went inside. Nevertheless, an old associate offers him the job of chauffeuring Simone, a high-class call girl, from client to client.

“A very dangerous world”

Simone eventually wins his trust, while George becomes smitten with her, so when she asks him to search for her friend Cathy among the seedy strip clubs of London’s Soho, he reluctantly agrees. It’s a task that leads them both into a very dangerous world.

George is a rough diamond, somebody with a dark past who you nevertheless sympathise with, and Hoskins plays him to perfection – little wonder he received an Oscar nomination and a Bafta win as Best Actor for his portrayal.

The then little-known Cathy Tyson is also impressive as Simone, while Robbie Coltrane has an eye-catching supporting role as Thomas, George’s eccentric friend who offers him much-needed support and a sounding board throughout his trials and tribulations. Look out too for Clark Peters as a pimp, long before he found fame in The Wire.

“Towering presence”

But no review of the film would be complete without a mention for Michael Caine. His role as underworld kingpin Denny Mortwell is only a little more than a cameo, but whenever he’s on screen, you can’t help but watch his every move. He’s literally a towering presence – he looks about a foot taller than Hoskins – and has only played a more vicious character once in his career, the central protagonist in Get Carter. He should have been Oscar nominated too.

Director Neil Jordan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David Leland, claims the story was inspired by a newspaper clipping about an ex-con charged with assault after claiming he was protecting a group of prostitutes from their pimp. Whether the villain was telling the truth or not, thank goodness Jordan saw the tale, because without it, we might never have had such a brilliant film.

Mona Lisa is 40 years old this year, but it’s never looked better and, sadly, its plot remains utterly believable and relevant.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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