---
title: "Mona Lisa"
year: 1986
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/mona-lisa"
fi1m_id: "mona-lisa"
imdb_id: "tt0091538"
tmdb_id: 10002
wikidata_id: "Q574057"
fi1m_score: 83
critics_score: 76
critics_reviews: 10
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:23.415381+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Mona Lisa (1986)

Directed by Neil Jordan · 1h 45m · MPA R · Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller

## Identity

Mona Lisa

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/mona-lisa
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** mona-lisa
- **IMDb ID:** tt0091538
- **TMDB ID:** 10002
- **Wikidata ID:** Q574057
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091538/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10002, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q574057

**Fi1m score: 83** · Critics 76 from 10 reviews

*In a sentence:* Bob Hoskins makes falling in love look like something his solicitor should have advised against

> Neil Jordan’s *Mona Lisa* is a moving crime romance, carried by Bob Hoskins’s bruised, hopeful George. Its later thriller business is less convincing, but the uneasy attachment between Hoskins and Cathy Tyson is worth the trouble.

## Synopsis

George (Bob Hoskins) is an ex-convict who finds work as a chauffeur to Simone (Cathy Tyson), a sex worker in London. Their working relationship brings together two people divided by class, temperament and their expectations of each other. As George becomes attached to Simone, he struggles to understand her detachment and the underworld in which the job places him. Neil Jordan directs and co-writes this crime drama about desire, isolation and the confusion between being needed and being loved. Michael Caine plays Mortwell, with Robbie Coltrane as Thomas.

## Review

Neil Jordan’s *Mona Lisa* is a moving love story whose criminal plotting occasionally lets it down. George, played by Bob Hoskins, is an ex-convict employed to drive Simone, the sex worker played by Cathy Tyson. The job takes him into London’s underworld and gives him someone to fall in love with. Jordan and co-writer David Leland make his need for affection the reason to follow him, even when his judgement gives us cause to worry.

Hoskins gives George an awkwardness that survives every attempt to seem certain of himself. The early comedy with Simone works because his bluster is so easy to see through, even when he thinks he has made himself understood. We laughed at him, then felt sorry for him, because Hoskins makes his wish to please her painfully obvious. He can be a difficult man to like, and the performance allows that difficulty to remain.

Tyson is essential to this, keeping Simone sufficiently detached that George’s enthusiasm never becomes a reliable account of their relationship. Her restraint makes us attend to how much he wants from her and how little he knows about her. There is a limit to the writing here: spending so much time with his feelings leaves less space for hers. Tyson gives Simone a life we cannot readily read, although the screenplay sometimes relies too heavily on that uncertainty.

Roger Pratt’s photography makes London feel cold and socially divided, giving George’s isolation a setting we can believe. Jamie Leonard’s production design is effective at making differences in status apparent before the characters have to explain them. The visual polish occasionally makes the underworld seem too carefully arranged for our inspection. Mostly, it helps: George looks out of place, and the surroundings keep reminding us how little his own confidence is worth.

Lesley Walker’s editing serves the early exchanges well, allowing the comedy and the embarrassment to occupy the same conversation. Michael Kamen’s music helps us take George’s romantic feelings seriously, even while the performances give us reasons to question his judgement. Michael Caine makes Mortwell’s lack of warmth quietly unpleasant, without demanding the attention Hoskins earns. He is unsettling precisely because he seems so comfortable in this company.

The later plotting is less persuasive, pushing towards familiar thriller excitement after those uneasy conversations have given us so much to care about. Jordan and Leland make the characters serve the dangers around them, and some of the earlier unpredictability goes. We want a gangster romance to leave room for people to be awkward, even when that holds up the crime story. Jordan becomes too keen to get the thriller moving.

The reservations do not cancel the pleasure of watching these actors work, and Tyson deserves equal attention. Hoskins makes his feelings so visible that it is easy to overlook how carefully she keeps hers back. See it when a love story with some nastiness in it sounds like the right sort of evening.

*Fi1m score 83, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like Mona Lisa, and mostly for Bob Hoskins. Review after review puts his George, the ex-con turned chauffeur, at the centre of the film, praising the pathos he brings to a downtrodden man falling for Cathy Tyson’s guarded call girl. Neil Jordan is credited with fusing gangster thriller and love story with intelligence, and several reviews note how much the film has to say about class, race and Thatcher’s Britain. Pratt’s photography of 1980s London and Michael Caine’s supporting turn also draw praise.

The spread is narrow and nobody dismisses it outright. The reservations gather in the second half. The New York Times finds it smooth and well acted but insubstantial, with the story running down rather than building. Slant Magazine enjoys the early comedy and the Hoskins–Tyson chemistry but thinks the thriller plot turns generic and its sexual politics regressive. Eye for Film, by contrast, admires the late turn, so even the ending divides.

## Straight answers

**Is Mona Lisa worth watching?**

*Mona Lisa* is worth watching for anyone who wants a love story with some nastiness in it, and we scored it 83. Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson make the uneasy attachment between a chauffeur and the sex worker he drives the reason to stay. The later thriller plotting is less convincing than the conversations that precede it.

**How long is Mona Lisa, and what is it rated?**

*Mona Lisa* runs 1h 45m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a crime and drama film.

**Where can I watch Mona Lisa in the US?**

*Mona Lisa* is streaming on HBO Max, Hulu, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US. It leaves HBO Max on 30 September. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Mona Lisa, and is it suitable for children?**

*Mona Lisa* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and an R in the US, and it is not for children. It is a crime drama set around sex work and London's underworld, with a coldness to its criminals rather than constant violence. Older teenagers who can take adult subject matter will manage; the squeamish will find it more unpleasant than frightening.

**How does Mona Lisa compare to The Long Good Friday?**

*Mona Lisa* is the gentler and more romantic of the two Bob Hoskins films, while [*The Long Good Friday*](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday) is the tighter thriller. Jordan's film is about a man falling in love badly, and its crime plotting is the weaker part; Mackenzie's is about ambition and money under real pressure, with Helen Mirren adding to its appeal. Choose *Mona Lisa* for the performances and the awkward tenderness, and *The Long Good Friday* when you want the gangster picture proper.

**What should I watch after Mona Lisa?**

After *Mona Lisa*, try [*The Long Good Friday*](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday) (1980, Fi1m 88): More Hoskins, with criminal confidence put under considerably greater pressure. Then [*Nights of Cabiria*](https://film.one/film/nights-of-cabiria) (1957, Fi1m 88): Another bruising encounter between romantic hope and the business of survival; and [*Atlantic City*](https://film.one/film/atlantic-city) (1980, Fi1m 86): An ageing small-time criminal lets romance encourage some dangerously grand ideas.

### Reviews we read (10)

- **Time Out**, RR (90/100, inferred): The film is an assured London-set thriller about the need to love, triggered by Hoskins being assigned as chauffeur to an elegant prostitute played by Tyson. It delivers one of the most affecting love stories in recent cinema, with a slow descent towards hell and an extraordinarily touching performance from Hoskins at its heart. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/mona-lisa)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Sheila Benson (85/100, inferred): The critic welcomes the film as a glorious, bittersweet adult diversion with controlled lyricism, strong humanism, and vivid storytelling centered on an unlikely romance amid London's underworld. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-06-13-ca-10987-story.html)
- **Empire**, Ian Nathan (80/100, inferred): The critic praises Neil Jordan’s intelligent fusion of gangster thriller and love story set in Thatcher’s Britain, highlighting its exploration of class, race and sexuality. Bob Hoskins’ powerful performance as the downtrodden George is singled out as lifting the film into a Scorsese-like parable. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mona-lisa-review/)
- **Radio Times**, Sue Heal (4/5): Hoskins conveys deeper emotion than usual as the gangster's chauffeur madly in love with Tyson's detached prostitute, bringing rich pathos to the plot. Jordan directs with great flair and insight, with Pratt's photography lingering in the mind, capturing 1980s soullessness in a moving and thought-provoking experience. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-6n36pv/mona-lisa/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (80/100, inferred): The critic praises Bob Hoskins' great performance as the ex-con George and the film's strong atmosphere and character work, noting the central relationship and supporting turns by Cathy Tyson and Michael Caine. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mona-lisa-1986)
- **The AV Club**, Keith Phipps (80/100, inferred): The critic notes that the film wraps complex themes of race, class, and identity in a brisk thriller. Bob Hoskins' performance stands out as the film's core, giving the story a redemptive glimmer amid its dark underworld. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/mona-lisa-dvd-1798197161)
- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (70/100, inferred): The review pairs the film with Top Gun and focuses on its brutes and tone in the context of contemporary cinema. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1986/06/16/brutes)
- **Slant Magazine**, Derek Smith (60/100, inferred): The early sections are praised for their off-kilter comedy, noir elements, and the chemistry between Hoskins and Tyson. The later thriller plot is criticized for becoming generic and regressive in its sexual politics. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/mona-lisa-blu-ray-review-neil-jordan-criterion/)
- **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (60/100, inferred): The critic calls the film classy kitsch that is smooth and fun to watch for its performances and visuals but ultimately insubstantial and lacking in excitement as the story runs down. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/13/movies/screen-mona-lisa-starring-bob-hoskins.html)
- **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (75/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's late twist that keeps viewers guessing, its gritty authenticity, and strong performances, particularly from Bob Hoskins and Michael Caine, while noting deeper themes of isolation and manipulation in a brutal world. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/mona-lisa-1986-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

## Details

- **Director:** Neil Jordan
- **Director:** Neil Jordan
- **Writer:** David Leland, Neil Jordan
- **Cinematography:** Roger Pratt
- **Editor:** Lesley Walker
- **Music:** Michael Kamen
- **Production design:** Jamie Leonard
- **Costume design:** Louise Frogley
- **Producer:** Patrick Cassavetti, Stephen Woolley
- **Cast:** Bob Hoskins as George; Cathy Tyson as Simone; Robbie Coltrane as Thomas; Michael Caine as Mortwell; Clarke Peters as Anderson; Sammi Davis as May; Kate Hardie as Cathy; Zoë Nathenson as Jeannie
- **Runtime:** 1h 45m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 13 June 1986
- **Genres:** Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
- **Also in:** [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 1986); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 1986)
- **Budget:** $2 million
- **Box office:** $6 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86lXsR5iX2Q

## Where to watch in the US

- HBO Max: streaming, leaving 2026-09-30
- Hulu: add-on, hd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd, leaving 2026-10-01
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, DE, ES, FR, GB, IT, JP, MX, NL, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1987: Best Actor (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *The Long Good Friday* (1980), Fi1m 88: More Hoskins, with criminal confidence put under considerably greater pressure — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday.md)
- *Nights of Cabiria* (1957), Fi1m 88: Another bruising encounter between romantic hope and the business of survival — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/nights-of-cabiria.md)
- *Atlantic City* (1980), Fi1m 86: An ageing small-time criminal lets romance encourage some dangerously grand ideas — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/atlantic-city.md)
- *Le Samouraï* (1967), Fi1m 88: For the loneliness beneath criminal professionalism, stripped of almost all chatter — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/le-samourai.md)
- *Decision to Leave* (2022), Fi1m 82: A detective’s longing clouds his judgement in an intricately controlled romance — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/decision-to-leave.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/mona-lisa