Mona Lisa

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Mona Lisa

R

1986

1h 44m

Mystery & Thriller

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

George is a small-time crook just out of prison who discovers his tough-guy image is out of date.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.

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Critics Consensus

Bob Hoskins is outstanding in Mona Lisa, giving this stylish neo-noir a riveting centerpiece that sets it apart from similar stories.

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Jay Carr

Boston Globe

07/30/2024

The best romantic gangster movie in years. Bob Hoskins is unforgettable as a sweet thug whose feelings go to his fists.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

09/13/2023

Mona Lisa reeks of noirishness. Worse, it reeks of intellectualized noirishnesss. But the whole movie has some of the potency of cheap music that’s represented by the title song. I succumbed.

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Wendy Ide

The Times (UK)

08/09/2023

George is a brilliant creation — part hapless clown, part two-bit criminal, he is the beating heart of this gritty little British film.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

12/07/2024

[Neil] Jordan’s portrait is at once lush and garish, romantic and cynical, and Caine’s shockingly vicious performance as cold-blooded crime boss Mortwell sets the bar for cruelty and avarice.

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Peter Bell

Vague Visages

06/05/2023

Mona Lisa was ahead of its time, a precursor of urban fairy tales in late 90s British cinema.

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

02/28/2023

Finding love in such a dark place is dangerous and manipulative, yet unexpectedly possible for a man like George.

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bob c

Jan 6

OK Bob Hoskins playing, well, himself in a very tacky, seedy and venal environment. Hasn’t aged well for me.

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Ewan M

Dec 13

Watched it when it came out and loved it, watched again in 2025 and I loved it again, great acting from Bob and Cathy and the rest of cast in a UK that has unfortunately changed so much.

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Nathan Y.

@NathanYatesDouglass Nov 18

Unexpected, strange, tense, and touching. Bob Hoskins is brilliant in this tough, nuanced gangster movie.

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Enjae O.

@Enjae Oct 18

Daw this in the theatre when in was released. Interesting plot twists. Not for the faint of heart. One of my favorite movies.

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Luca D

@JoeCamel7 Jun 6

Does not live up to expectations. Characters are unrelatable and uninteresting. Not a bad movie, just not a very good one. The plot loosely fumbles around and naturally ends with a shootout and then everyone goes home and it's over. I will say the soundtrack acting and cinematography were all very good, it's just the lack of plot and character depth that kills it for me.

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danwhiffinmusic

Apr 18

Great film with a brilliant performance from Bob Hoskins. I preferred this to the long good Friday, it seemed to hang together a bit better and the characters had a little bit more depth.

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Neil Jordan

Director

Bob Hoskins

George

Cathy Tyson

Simone

Michael Caine

Mortwell

Robbie Coltrane

Thomas

Clarke Peters

Anderson

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Synopsis

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.

Director: Neil Jordan
Screenwriter: Neil Jordan, David Leland
Distributor: Island Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 13, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 15, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.3M
Runtime: 1h 44m

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