This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

"There are only three good British gangster movies. You were in one (The Long Good Friday). I was in another (Get Carter). And we were both in the third (Mona Lisa)." - Michael Caine to Bob Hoskins

A brilliant and provocative drama about a petty criminal who becomes a driver for a high-class hooker as he deals with his new surroundings in London's seedy sex underworld as it features an incredible performance from Bob Hoskins.

Wow. that was depressing. No, the tacked on happy ending didn't help,as it was basically at the expense of two prostitutes. Starts off like it's gong to be the ODd couple - Bob Hoskins' grumpy ex-con and Cathy Tyson's classy call girl. Things take an increasingly dark turn as the movie delves into the world of prostitution, strip clubs and porn retail culminating in a violent ending changing the lives of everyone, but Hoskin's for the good?

Sexy, scary, daring, excellent

"There are only three good British gangster movies. You were in one (The Long Good Friday). I was in another (Get Carter). And we were both in the third (Mona Lisa)." - Michael Caine to Bob Hoskins

This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

A brilliant and provocative drama about a petty criminal who becomes a driver for a high-class hooker as he deals with his new surroundings in London's seedy sex underworld as it features an incredible performance from Bob Hoskins.

Hoskins is a powerhouse. A lovely, if at times hard to swallow, look at a prostitue and (recently released) career criminal. One of Neil Jordan's best films.

No exagero si digo que Neil Jordan me parece uno de los cineastas activos más interesantes del mundo. Ya sea con vertientes oscuras de cuentos populares (En compañía de lobos), con las crónicas de un vampiro que come ratas (Entrevista con el vampiro) o con su introspección del travestismo (Desayuno en Plutón), siempre demuestra riqueza y heterodoxia en el tratamiento de los temas. No se conforma con que esos temas sean potentes de por sí. Cierto es que un par de excursiones americanas le han salido rana (Dentro de mis sueños, La extraña que hay en ti), pero tenía más que ver con los flojos libretos de los que partía que con su realización. El peculiar modo de desarrollar los temas que maneja, combinando libertina despreocupación por dar respuestas y serio compromiso para con sus personajes, abre siempre puertas. Nunca las cierra. Puedes leer la crítica al completo en el enlace que hay a continuación.

http://filmbunker.net/criticas/mona-lisa

56/100

A great performance in search of a movie. (Hoskins won every award—Cannes, all three major crix groups, even the Golden Globe—save for the Oscar, which went to Paul Newman.) Central relationship compels but all attempts to "raise the stakes"—via Michael Caine slumming it as a generic smooth baddie; via a climactic revelation that seemed patronizing in its gotcha-ness even a quarter-century ago; via the usual Hail Mary barrage of violence—fizzle, leaving the impression of a gentle character study that devolves into a bad erotic thriller. All the best scenes involve Hoskins negotiating ritzy hotel lobbies...though I'd probably dig his descent into London's sexual underground as well were it not accompanied quite so prominently by Genesis' "In Too Deep." Has moments, but compared to The Long Good Friday (which I only saw for the first time fairly recently), it feels disappointingly soft; Canby's assessment—"classy kitsch"—was fundamentally accurate.

Bob Hoskins deserved that Oscar nomination for his performance as the recently released criminal now driving a prostitute around high class hotels. Beyond that Michael Caine was a bit of fun, as was Robbie Coltrane and, as a prime example of his early career, Clarke Peters was woefully underused. The plot gets dark pretty quickly and some pretty grim things happen, it's just not as layered as it likes to think it is and parts do have some pacing issues.