Bob Hoskins searching for a mystery woman through peep shows and seedy clubs to the sounds of Genesis’ ‘In Too Deep’ is such an iconic 1980s neo-noir moment. Mona Lisa (1986) is directed by Neil Jordan and earned accolades and awards for Hoskins’ performance as George, a small time crook released from prison after a seven year stretch. With an estranged ex-wife and a daughter he’s trying to connect with, George gets a job from the gangster who owes him, Mortwell (Michael Caine in steel eyed Get Carter mode). As a driver and cover for sex worker Simone (Cathy Tyson), George and his new charge have a frosty beginning as he drives her from hotel to hotel. Yet a partnership develops, and a growing desire develops from George for Simone, even when he is tasked by her to find an old friend in the London underworld, a territory that he is grown unfamiliar with and is getting increasingly disgusted by. As symbolised by its title and its use of Nat King Cole’s song, the film is a portrait of male misunderstanding and confusion, deepened by Hoskins’ soulful, grounded performance. A little bit dated in the way that I think it hues close to George’s perspective whereas Simone’s character would be given more inner life or be the focus, Mona Lisa is still a great London-based neo-noir dramatic thriller with idiosyncratic touches by director Jordan (as well as a nod to Taxi Driver in one particular shot). Did we really show appreciation to Bob Hoskins when he was alive? The film is just a testament how great an actor he was: from a working-class background, an unlikely leading man movie star on the basis of his presence and talent. Robbie Coltrane is also welcome support as George’s Scottish mystery-novel-reading friend, a young Clarke Peters (from The Wire) is featured as a pimp, and it was produced by George Harrison’s company, Handmade Pictures. The Arrow Video Blu-ray remastered version is gorgeous and sharp in detail; the film is also available to stream on SBS On Demand. Recommended.
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