What kicks off MONA LISA is the unlikely relationship between ex-con chauffeur (Bob Hoskins) and high-end call girl (Cathy Tyson). The two couldn't be more at odds, but there's an incremental softening, with Hoskins slowly becoming taken with her sophistication. But the film's terrific noir story finds our small-time crook plunging himself into the murky waters of the London underworld as he tries to unravel a mystery. And in true hard-boiled fashion, he's had enough of being jerked around as events turn ever more downbeat. There's a glimmer of hope in the closing moments of MONA LISA that happens just when you think things can't get any bleaker. It's not at all what one would expect, but for once, there's finally a note that's upbeat.
Wonderful movie; engrossing while it plays, and hard to shake when it's done. The story is luridly captivating even when the seedy scenery isn't. And there's a nice break for a music video (Genesis' In Too Deep) that lays on the mood in the grand Miami Vice tradition. And the performances from Hoskins, Tyson and Michael Caine (who commands the screen during his scenes) are remarkable. But it's Hoskins who makes this movie his own as a character who's usually clueless, with an innocence masked by gritty toughness. We share his heartbreak when he's denied that which keeps him going, and the film's emotional center is embodied by him. He really does an amazing job here.
8/10
Wonderful movie; engrossing while it plays, and hard to shake when it's done. The story is luridly captivating even when the seedy scenery isn't. And there's a nice break for a music video (Genesis' In Too Deep) that lays on the mood in the grand Miami Vice tradition. And the performances from Hoskins, Tyson and Michael Caine (who commands the screen during his scenes) are remarkable. But it's Hoskins who makes this movie his own as a character who's usually clueless, with an innocence masked by gritty toughness. We share his heartbreak when he's denied that which keeps him going, and the film's emotional center is embodied by him. He really does an amazing job here.
8/10