Mona Lisa

For a film about a criminal fresh out of prison who gets work as a chauffeur for a high-end call girl, Mona Lisa is a really boring movie. Maybe it’s the pacing, maybe it’s the mostly very low-key performances, but this feels like it should have been much more compelling than it really is. You’ve got Bob Hoskins, Michael Caine, and Robbie Coltrane, all looking incredibly young and in their prime, plus Cathy Tyson as the prostitute that Hoskins ends up escorting to her various jobs. The interesting thing about this movie is that it does a pretty good job of giving an unvarnished look at the seedy side of the erotic/prostitute world. Hoskins gets an eyeful of some rather unsavory stuff and he doesn’t like what he finds.

But unfortunately, any emotional weight or impact is lessened by the aforementioned issues. I kept finding myself trying to care or get involved, but the film somehow keeps itself at an arms-length distance.

QUALITY:
For a Blu-Ray release, the picture quality is not that great. I’m sure it probably has to do with the quality of the original master, but it’s still pretty rough looking (again, for a Blu-Ray. If this were a standard DVD release, we probably wouldn’t even be having this conversation.)

BONUS FEATURES:
One bonus feature, if you can call the theatrical trailer a bonus feature.

I suppose this film might be an acquired taste, but it’s not one that I plan on developing. It’s not a terrible film by any stretch…just one that left me incredibly bored and ambivalent.