Mona Lisa

"Sometimes love is a strange and wicked game."

1986 1h 45m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 309

CrimeDramaRomanceThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

George is a small-time crook just out of prison who discovers his tough-guy image is out of date. Reduced to working as a minder/driver for high class call girl Simone, he has to agree when she asks him to find a young colleague from her King's Cross days. That's when George's troubles just start.

“Sometimes love is a strange and wicked game.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Bob Hoskins
George
Cathy Tyson
Simone
Robbie Coltrane
Thomas
Michael Caine
Mortwell
Clarke Peters
Anderson
Sammi Davis
May
Kate Hardie
Cathy
Zoë Nathenson
Jeannie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Neil Jordan
Writers: David Leland, Neil Jordan
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

40 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Neil Jordan, shot by Roger Pratt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Kamen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lesley Walker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson and Robbie Coltrane carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Sometimes love is a strange and wicked game.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0091538 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Neil Jordan directs. Roger Pratt behind the camera. Michael Kamen scores. Lesley Walker cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

140 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Neil Jordan, shot by Roger Pratt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Michael Kamen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Lesley Walker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson and Robbie Coltrane carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Sometimes love is a strange and wicked game.".
7IMDB entry: tt0091538 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Original score: Michael Kamen
Editing: Lesley Walker
Production design: Jamie Leonard
Costume design: Louise Frogley
Makeup / hair: Lois Burwell
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $5,794,184
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Mona Lisa (1986)

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Neil Jordan

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522022-06-23
★ 8/10
Really good British neo-noir featuring great performances from Bob Hoskins and the lovely Cathy Tyson who share some nice scenes together and a pretty melancholy ending. Michael Caine is great as a classy scumbag (seems like he played many of these roles in the 70s and 80s). This is the second time seeing this and still holds up. 4.0/5
Peter McGinn2023-06-19
★ 6/10
I had watched this movie many years ago, but not to remember much of it, so with the fairly positive ratings and Bob Hoskins, it felt like a safe bet. But there wasn’t as much humor as I thought I remembered, and the plot of a guy trying to “rescue” a hooker seems rather stereotypical and predictable in places. It didn’t do much for me and I barely stuck with it. I was so unimpressed that I decided not to watch another gangster movie featuring Hoskins and good ratings.
CinemaSerf2025-04-21
★ 7/10
Bob Hoskins is entirely convincing as the increasingly conflicted and crotchety petty criminal “George” who has just been released after a seven year stretch as a guest of Her Majesty. He has been released into a world that doesn’t really want him any more, and so he is relegated to driving high class hooker “Simone” (Cathy Tyson) from one wealthy client to another, whilst his ex-wife ensures that he isn’t welcome at home or to see his daughter. Initially, he isn’t too impressed with his new charge but the more he works with her the more they gradually begin to understand each other and he falls, a bit one-sidedly it has to be said, in love. As that relationship becomes more trusting, “Simone” takes him into her confidence more and asks him to help track down another, less expensive, prostitute “Cathy” (Kate Hardie) who’s earning opportunities are more limited and her drug dependency makes her even more vulnerable on the unforgiving streets controlled by the sordid and scheming “Mortwell” (Michael Caine). Pretty swiftly, “George” finds himself embroiled in a scenario that is pitching him against his own, in defence of a woman who has an altogether different agenda and it’s a dangerous straddling position to escape from. There is something tragic about this story and both Hopkins and Tyson play their roles poignantly as the threads of their completely differing lives gradually entangle. He has to come to terms with an unfamiliar side of his erstwhile friends, of his city and of himself that shows us a grimy, seamy and brutal industry that saw some amass wealth at the expense of the vulnerable. Neil Jordan has written potently here, sure, but there is also some humour peppered throughout the drama and a solid supporting cast help add richness to a plot that’s full of twists, turns and even some Elton John specs. It has dated a little, but is still well worth a watch.