Mona Lisa

Neil Jordan, UK, 1986, 104 minutes

Big boss George (Michael Caine) employs minor villain (Bob Hoskins) as a chauffeur to an elegant prostitute (Cathy Tyson) who eventually persuades him to help her to find her friend who had mysteriously disappeared. Set mainly in London with frequent scenes in Soho, this is a unique thriller, rather thematically reminiscent of Scorsese's Taxi Driver.

Neil Jordan focuses here on the dynamics in the relationship between two diametrically opposed characters whose worlds and mentalities are totally alien to each other. The permanently electrified atmosphere in their relationship due to the mutual lack of tolerance and inability to communicate is often balanced by a latent respect and love which is delicately detectable by Jordan's sensitive camera. The effect of urban alienation in the relationships between people acquires here a different character in the desperate need for love in both characters. The lost friend is the only remedy for the prostitute's loneliness, while the divorced chauffeur seeks to confirm the love for his daughter.

Jordan's film, apart from its stylish brilliance which perfectly evokes the bleak estranged climate of London, contains incredibly committed performances which play skillfully with the audience's preferences of character. Michael Caine is superb as the corrupt crook who has got Hoskins under absolute control while Cathy Tyson is excellent as the melancholy but determined prostitute. However, the film belongs to Bob Hoskins who gives undoubtedly the finest performance of his career as the short, irritable but sensitive chauffeur. A truly wonderful film with remarkable acuteness and compassion!

Review by Spiros Gangas
Taken from EUFS Programme 1992-93