Review of Mona Lisa (1973) by Ethan E — 12 Feb 2009

This is a one of a kind crime film. Bob Hoskins plays a genuinely mean, short tempered, and angry person who navigates freely in the criminal underworld. Without wasting any time we learn that he's ultimately a sad, lonely and desperate loser.

He has but a single friend, a daughter he tries to reconnect with after a long absence and he takes a fancy to the call girl he now chauffeurs which leads to an ultimate heartbreaking emotional downfall.

This movie is not focused on violence or money or revenge, it's a study of a down and out loser with feelings he has trouble controlling, coming to terms with, and expressing. It's a finely crafted emotional film where the crime genre is used as a backdrop and characters' genuine feelings are exploited.

The tone of the film is somewhere between downbeat and an unsureness if things will get better which in my opinion may reflect George's (Hoskins) own conscious. It's damn near perfect.