Mona Lisa
1986
****
Director: Neil Jordan
Cast: Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine, Robbie Coltrane, Clarke Peters, Kate Hardie, Zoë Nathenson, Sammi Davis, Rod Bedall, Joe Brown, Pauline Melville, Hossein Karimbeik
A working-class ex-con, George finds work as a chauffeur for Simone, a high-class prostitute, who asks for his help in locating a young woman from her past who has disappeared into London's underworld. Neil Jordan's terrific film combines crime, romance, and neo-noir elements to tell a story about two damaged people searching for connection. Bob Hoskins gives a heartbreaking performance as the desperately lonely George, whose growing affection for Simone leaves him vulnerable to betrayal and violence. Cathy Tyson is also wonderful in her film debut. The dramatic finale anticipates the ending of Jordan's best work, The Crying Game (1992).
