Hit Play: Mona Lisa (1986)
by Robbie Jones
Last year, we said a sad farewell to Bob Hoskins. One of the finest actors Britain ever produced, his filmography was nothing short of excellent, with films like The Long Good Friday, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Brazil and Made in Dagenham under his belt (There was also Super Mario Bros, but let’s just ignore that one...). However, there was one film in 1986 that saw Hoskins give maybe his finest performance, even earning himself an Oscar nomination, and that film was Mona Lisa.
The folks at Arrow Video have released a re-mastered version of the film on Blu-Ray today, so let’s take a look at this 80s masterpiece.
George (Hoskins) is fresh out of prison after seven years and living with his friend Thomas (Robbie Coltrane). Eager to get back to work, he is assigned as a driver to call girl Simone (Cathy Tyson), taking her from job to job. The two form an unusual friendship, but Simone’s dark past is coming back to haunt her.
Firstly, another pat on the back to Arrow Video for this excellent Blu-Ray. There aren’t many special features (Though the few we have are great), but what it lacks in special features it makes up for in beautiful picture and sound quality. The film came out in 1986, but you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking it came out 2006. It makes the already captivating film so much more invigorating, and is surely a must own for all Blu-Ray collectors.
The film itself is absolutely excellent; it’s beautifully shot and incredibly well written. Neil Jordan and David Leland have created a real masterpiece.
The story is so rich with drama, humour and complex characters. The relationship between George and Simone is fascinating; at the heart of it all, they’re good people, but they’ve made mistakes. They see that in each other and that’s what makes them so close, even though they have their obvious differences. They’re very tricky characters to play as well, which make Hoskins and Tyson’s performances all the more impressive. Their chemistry on screen in perfect from the minute they meet to their final scene, and it’s a really captivating dynamic that you just need to see through to the end. All the performances are good, but another that deserves recognition is Michael Caine as the film’s villain Mortwell. Now traditionally we picture Michael Caine as playing good guys/nice people, with exceptions of course (Like Alfie, Now You See Me etc.), so it’s a real testament to his acting talent to see him play such a slimy, horrible character and do it so convincingly.
Mona Lisa is kind of slow at the start, but picks up very fast as the actual power of the film begins to show itself. What’s also quite engaging is how the characters don’t necessarily conform to their stereotypes; George is a ‘hard man’ who is desperate to have a relationship with his daughter and enjoys hobbies like reading, and Simone is actually presented a complex, interesting character as opposed to a piece of meat for men to enjoy (Which is a common idea of prostitutes). This power and emotion shines through, making every scene more enjoyable than the last. Finally, the music is to die for. The soothing sounds of Nat King Cole gifts the film with a very mellow, relaxing vibe it maintains for a lot of the film. But once the tension builds or emotions soar, then some original music is at hand to inject the life into the scene.
A practically flawless film, now available on a practically flawless Blu-Ray. Mona Lisa hits every note, and it hands down one of the best films of all time. The sad thing is we’ll never see Hoskins give another excellent performance, but we can always treasure this one, as well as his other shining examples of brilliant acting.