There's an unforgettable moment, when they're both in tears, hiding behind silly plastic eyeglasses in a garish carnival setting, and, trying to explain her odd situation that he's just beginning to understand, she says, "Haven't you ever needed someone?" and he squeezes out the reply: "All the time."

It's a remarkably tender story in a chokingly ugly environment. Caine is gruesomely sleazy.

I remember seeing this when it first came out, about the time of "Blue Velvet" and "Brazil"; what an amazing era that was! All three movies even had ironically sweet or upbeat theme songs from a few decades before.

Director Neil Jordan later moved on to the weirder pastures of "The Crying Game," and then the glossy jobs "Interview with the Vampire" and now "The End of the Affair," but I still consider this his best -- not to mention Bob Hoskins's most incredible acting work.


LONDON, SOHO, GEORGE AND SIMONE   June 8, 2001
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Firstly I would say that if you have in your library John Mackenzie's THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY, also available in the Criterion collection, and Neil Jordan's MONA LISA, you already have a good specimen of what the British cinema was able to offer in the eighties. A fabulous actor, Bob Hoskins, is present in both movies; he won the best actor prize at the 1986 Cannes Festival for MONA LISA.

Neil Jordan began his career as a writer and is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting film directors nowadays. It's always challenging for the common viewer to watch a movie directed by a former writer. One often wonders why the director has left his books for the cinema. Some of these ex-writers use the camera as if they were handling a pen and the result is dreadful. Or too intellectual. Fortunately, with MONA LISA, Neil Jordan has created a stunning visual world and George and Simone's night wanderings through the London underworld an unforgettable cinematographic journey.

MONA LISA develops a lot of themes that will touch you in a way or in another. The different levels of the movie are so well mingled in the story that you will be able to watch MONA LISA several times and still discover little pearls hidden by the brilliant director. At the end of the movie, I just wanted to check the sound quality of the commentary track recorded in 1996 by Neil Jordan and Bob Hoskins and I found myself trapped into MONA LISA for an immediate second screening.

Apart from the commentary, this Criterion DVD offers the theatrical trailer and a one page written Neil Jordan commentary.

A DVD for your library.


My favorite movie   March 18, 2000
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I believe Neil Jordan put together a work of perfection here. I deeply cared for the two main characters (played brilliantly by Hoskins and Tyson). The portrayal of the pain of isolation and the hopelessness of not being able to connect with their desires touched me at a level only great works can do. All the details of a film are done with perfection.(Don't forget the fine little performance of Robbie Coltrane who later became the main charater in "Cracker".) But given the individual stengths of the fascinating plot, the extraordinary performances and the effective filming and music, it is the whole, the gestalt of this work, that reaches the highest level of art.


another Bob Hoskins classic   July 2, 2004
 6 out of 9 found this review helpful

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

In this movie, Bob Hoskins plays the role of George, a man recently released from prison who takes a job driving a prostitute to her customers. George has been shunned by former colleagues and his ex wife and struggles to make a living.

The film has good acting and is very well photographed. Again with having first seen Bob hoskins in the film, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and having seen that film an uncountable number of times before seeung him in other films, it is hard to see Hoskins in any other role.

The film recieved an R rating in the US for violence, profanity, and brief female nudity. This DVD has been approved by director Neil Jordan and has 2 special features. There is a theatrical trailer and audio commentary by director Niel Jordan and actor Bob Hoskins which was originally recorder for the laserdisc edition in 1996