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Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa

1986
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 44m
George, after getting out of prison, begins looking for a job, but his time in prison has reduced his stature in the criminal underworld... (imdb)
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Mona Lisa

1986
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 44m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 63.53% from 467 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(467)
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Rated 21 Mar 2009
40
71st
A soft-boiled thriller in a hard-boiled shell, with a hero of similar description: a toughie on the outside, a softie within. Hoskins, for whom it was expressly written, is very likable in the role, but it is not enough just to like him. You have to like the fellow he is portraying as well, and though you will probably have little difficulty doing that, you may not be able to do so without being aware of how little choice you have in the matter, how ramrodded into it you are.
Rated 28 Apr 2023
74
76th
Don't rob the money train, Vic! Oh wait, don't rob the hooker train? Hoskins is excellent and Caine is terrifying. Nobody's really smiling in this so I'm not sure what the title is referencing.
Rated 20 Oct 2011
90
90th
With its strip joints and prostitutes it could have been made in New York, but set in England it gains a sense of the ordinary and melancholy unique to British cinema, creating an exceptional film. Hoskins and Tyson are excellent, the latter, playing the titular character, sadly never starring in many features films after this. Only the inclusion of a Phil Collins era Genesis song during a montage flaws an otherwise incredible crime drama, one which feels far more real despite its genre tropes.
Rated 06 Jul 2011
80
91st
Highlights include Bob Hoskins being beaten mercilessly about the face with a riding crop and giving a 15 year old prostitute a piggy-back ride.
Rated 25 Sep 2009
73
85th
Unmistakably Neil Jordan. It feels as though fantasy has been spliced onto an unsuspecting genre; imbuing the characters with hidden charm, humility, and an innocence that tries to transcend the symbiosis with quiet desperation.
Rated 27 Apr 2011
87
89th
With similarities to Jordan's later The Crying Game, and a little dash of Taxi Driver thrown into the mix, this is an excellent noir-tinged drama about a man who doesn't understand the world he's been thrust into and tries to mold it to his way of thinking. With impressive performances by Hoskins and Tyson, the script really draws us into these characters and their problems. Even when it's familiar or predictable (which is not that often) it feels fresh, and held my full attention throughout.
Rated 05 Mar 2010
76
85th
Bob Hoskins is excellent as an ex-con who falls in love with the prostitute he chaffeurs from trick to trick. He's tough and uncouth, yet tender and kind, and perhaps too naive for a street-smart roughneck. But Neil Jordan has a tendency to turn the ordinary into a bit of a fairy tale, and even the grimy and sordid world on display here seems to glow with possibility.
Rated 05 Jul 2009
83
93rd
Best Neil Jordan movie that I've seen, for all the extravagance of its plot, Mona Lisa remains believable and grabbing thanks to its intriguing, subtle, thoughtful writing, and a brilliant cast led by the brilliant Bob Hoskins.
Rated 13 Jun 2010
82
61st
Hoskins has a rare depth here that is simply incredible.
Rated 23 Apr 2008
93
95th
Wonderful and surprising, and surprisingly gripping.
Rated 22 Jun 2008
95
53rd
interesting, dark, innocet
Rated 14 Aug 2007
100
98th
Dark, gorgeous, heartbreaking love story. Neil Jordan's melancholy masterpiece. Bob Hoskins gives one of the GREAT male lead performances of all time. He is tough. He is tender. He is MAGNIFICENT. Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine & Robbie Coltrane are all terrific.
Rated 04 Jul 2021
85
85th
Bob Hoskins is British? I thought he was Italian! This film is heartbreaking. Bob Hoskins gives a line-read at the end of the film that is the most tear-inducing few word line-read ever. I am also amazed thatfor as young as Cathy Tyson was, she was able to bring such a presence to her role.
Rated 06 Sep 2013
87
87th
Hoskins does a great job, and he lays out the template in an excellent opening scene. It's a great performance all the way through, but I shouldn't minimize how great the other performances are. The film is less about George's mental state than it is about his interactions with the world, and it helps that everything is painted so vividly and the characters drawn so well. My only complaint would be that the pacing is a little off, but those are minor quibbles.
Rated 04 May 2014
86
80th
Grande, grande neo-noir britânico. Plus: Michael Caine!
Rated 24 Nov 2012
76
74th
Excellent movie with some terrific characters and acting to compliment. Who knew Hoskins had such a performance in him. The cinematography sets the seedy tone for the film and the two leads seem strangely out of place with their surroundings, constantly searching for their role in the London criminal underbelly.
Rated 17 Apr 2012
90
92nd
There's something about Bob Hoskins walking through a peep show to Genesis IN TOO DEEP that just works. Hoskins is fantastic in this , holy, move over Mario Mario.
Rated 11 Dec 2014
35
20th
Some men, if they don't know, you just can't tell them.
Rated 29 Jul 2011
3
32nd
This movie sucks.
Rated 26 Mar 2014
85
83rd
84.500
Rated 27 Feb 2007
55
49th
Good film.
Rated 02 May 2007
80
68th
Strange crime story that takes a turn you won't expect (I ain't giving it away). Well worth seeing
Rated 08 Feb 2014
63
53rd
Great performances and a wonderful sense of place make this distinctive, off beat, if somewhat slight gangster film.
Rated 29 Nov 2012
85
90th
What a performance by Bob Hoskins. His character is brilliant - wide-eyed and naive, yet simultaneously edgy and dangerous, as he guides us through the purgatorial morass that is London's seedy underbelly. Despite the genre trappings and the dark subject matter, the film still manages to feel fresh, quirky and even funny. Little details, like the white rabbit and the scene with the novelty sunglasses, are really well done.
Rated 15 Apr 2014
70
41st
I really enjoyed this as a comedy, so the third-act turn into overwrought, puritanical drama was a bit of a letdown. Still, Hoskins is hilarious, and his rapport with Tyson and Coltrane in the early scenes is very entertaining. It's really a shame that Jordan feels he has to hew to the cliché that stories about prostitution have to end in grand tragedy. It sucks all the fun out of the movie. Also it's very weird seeing Lester Freamon/Big Chief Lambreaux playing an evil villain.
Rated 08 May 2012
82
71st
82.000
Rated 13 Aug 2013
2
59th
The movie is alright, Hoskins brilliant
Rated 22 Nov 2012
84
63rd
If it had ended just a handful of shots earlier it might be a masterpiece. As it stands, it's simply extremely good.
Rated 12 Aug 2019
72
51st
Decent character movie disguised as a gangster movie with the always great Bob Hoskins in the lead.
Rated 08 Mar 2020
73
61st
73.1
Rated 03 Nov 2020
80
68th
Both actors are excellent in roles that require them to hold back most of who they really are. Caine is vile and frightening as a man who considers everyone to be a commodity.
Rated 07 Nov 2020
80
81st
The femme fatale is a common theme in noir, but here we have the opposite, an enigma that unravels to reveal melancholy and sadness.
Rated 12 Aug 2021
80
81st
one of the best love films ever? i guess the answer depends on how messed up you are. regardless of that, this is an all-around great film with great performances, compelling if cliche storyline, brilliant direction, and some sweet moments that choke you up. its genuine tenderness takes this film to another sphere.
Rated 17 Oct 2021
78
77th
Character driven drama,every role has their demons and strengths displayed with pristine clarity.Their tiny subtleties gently portrayed, given time to breathe..sporadically sprinkled throughout with these charming Moments.These moments become ever so more apparent in the contrast which is the city and its atmosphere.It is all so dark and gritty,the denizens,all out for themselves,manipulation around every corner.Mona Lisa isn't necessarily a great movie,but it has impact.That is worthy of praise
Rated 10 Mar 2023
47
33rd
Didn’t understand the hype here at all. Super slow and boring but the 80s were different times and I don’t watch many uk films from that era
Rated 19 Feb 2024
50
26th
Nicely written. I like the idea of a character who, while making a living as a career criminal, retains a certain innocence. I feel that if anything is learnt it's about the character, not anything outside the film as much, which makes it a minor experience. I don't think this will stay with me long.

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