George (Bob Hoskins) is a recently released con. He's still a very angry man and you expect him soon to return to prison based on his anger. Something very odd happens instead. He needs a job and is given one escorting an escort. In other words, he drives around a high priced call girl and is there to help her with her cover and in case anything bad happens. At first, the pair do not get along at all...but soon they form an odd friendship and George looks on Simone (Cathy Tyson) with an almost avuncular manner. Soon, she asks him for a big favor...help in finding an underage prostitute somewhere in the seedier portions of London. And, he soon starts to feel sorry for the girls...many of which really are just girls...just like his estranged daughter. And then you start to wonder...will "Mona Lisa" end up actually being a lot like "Taxi Driver"?
"Mona Lisa" is a very strange film. On one hand, it's super-seedy and sleazy...but it also is, in an odd way, an anti-porn and anti-prostitution film. The problem is that most folks probably will be turned off by the downbeat plot and situations...and its message might just get lost in the process. But no matter what, Hoskins is great in the film...and it is an interesting portrayal, that's for sure. Overall, a film I did not particularly enjoy...watching it through to the end was a chore. However, it was well made. It's a story that certainly is NOT for all tastes and not one to how your mother nor Father O'Reilly nor your kids.
I find it amazing that Disney hired Hoskins for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" shortly after doing "Mona Lisa". It's not because Hoskins is bad...he's quite good in both films. But "Mona Lisa" is an incredibly seedy film set in many of the more sad and denigrated parts of cities. Now you'd think that Disney would avoid an actor associated with such a film with child exploitation and prostitution as themes...but somehow "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" managed to be made and released without a hitch.
"Mona Lisa" is a very strange film. On one hand, it's super-seedy and sleazy...but it also is, in an odd way, an anti-porn and anti-prostitution film. The problem is that most folks probably will be turned off by the downbeat plot and situations...and its message might just get lost in the process. But no matter what, Hoskins is great in the film...and it is an interesting portrayal, that's for sure. Overall, a film I did not particularly enjoy...watching it through to the end was a chore. However, it was well made. It's a story that certainly is NOT for all tastes and not one to how your mother nor Father O'Reilly nor your kids.
I find it amazing that Disney hired Hoskins for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" shortly after doing "Mona Lisa". It's not because Hoskins is bad...he's quite good in both films. But "Mona Lisa" is an incredibly seedy film set in many of the more sad and denigrated parts of cities. Now you'd think that Disney would avoid an actor associated with such a film with child exploitation and prostitution as themes...but somehow "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" managed to be made and released without a hitch.