Mona Lisa

Released 1986
Stars Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine, Robbie Coltrane, Clarke Peters, Kate Hardie, Zoe Nathenson, Sammi Davis
Directed by Neil Jordan

You can tell how much they eventually will like each other by how much they hate each other at first. His name is George. He's a short, fierce, bullet-headed foot soldier in the London underworld, and he has just gotten out of prison. Her name is Simone. She's a tall, beautiful black woman who works as a high-priced call girl. George goes to Mortwell, who runs the mob, looking for a job. He is assigned to drive Simone around to expensive hotels and private homes and to wait for her while she conducts her business. He also is supposed to protect her if anything goes wrong.

The movie's plot reveals itself only gradually. At first "Mona Lisa" seems to be a character study, the story of George and Simone and how they operate within the call-girl industry. After we find out how important the missing woman is to Simone, however, the movie becomes a thriller, as George descends into gutters to try to find her and bring her back to Simone.

Summary by Roger Ebert

Why is it that every hooker in the movies is a low-class whore strung out on drugs except for the hooker who's central to the story? That hooker is always intelligent, sensitive, and has a heart of gold. I find that tiresome, and I just wasn't able to get into this movie. The performances were all outstanding, but the story teetered between trite and original. I hate to be so negative, but I'm just tired of this type of story. --Bill Alward, August 13, 2002