6The Daily Tar HeelThursday, September 4, 1986
Mona Lisa' portrait of call girl and her driver
Nat King Cole's famous song
"Mona Lisa" asks the poignant
questions. "Are you warm? Are you
real. Mona Lisa? Or just a lonely
lovely work of art?" Neil Jordan's
new film of the same name is
definitely warm and real. This "lovely
work of art" opens tomorrow at the
Varsity Theatre and is every "bit as
haunting and powerful as DaVinci's
portrait of the mysterious lady.
The movie's subject is the relation
ship between Simone, a high-priced
call girl, and George, her driver.
Simone. is played by an exotic 20-vear-old
actress named Cathv Tvson.
In her film debut. Tyson comes
across as immensely sophisticated, a
fully mature actress. She holds her
own against Bob Hoskins. whose
brilliant portrayal of George is the
essential spark that sets the film
ablaze.
Through Hoskins character, who
is hired to drive Simone to her
Various appointments in the ritzy
areas of the city, the viewer is led
through the London underworld of
Elizabeth Ellen
Cinema
pornography. ' He is. by his own
admission, cheap and instantly
clashes with his charge, whose
philosophy can be summed up in her
quip "Being cheap is one thing.
Looking cheap is something else."
How right she is. Jordan has
allowed the character to succinctly
state one of the movies basic themes,
which is that realities do not always
match appearances. The theme is
most vividly evident in George his
exterior is in direct contrast to the
interior. He- is an ex-con. a petty
criminal out to earn a semi-honest
living. No knight in shining armor.
George is nevertheless a proverbial
unpolished gem: his low-class exte
rior disguises an extraordinarily good
heart.
Hoskins takes this role, which was
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Cathy Tyson and Dob Hoskins in 'Mona Lisa'
especially created for him. and runs
with it. He takes the concept of the
anti-hero to new heights, perhaps
surpassing even Arthur Miller's
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Willie Loman. that classic anti-hero,
because George is not only sympa
thetic but also extremely endearing.
He not only falls in love with Simone
but also has a soft spot for white
rabbits and 15-year-old girls gone
astray.
Simone is. in contrast, externally
elegant with the poise and manners
of a lady. She feels right at home
in London's posh hotels and estates,
yet her purpose is as low as the
streetwalkers'. She still makes her
living horizontally. It is eventually
revealed that she is inwardly cheap,
lacking George's inner goodness.
. . These contrasts are played to the
hilt through use of strong visual
images. In adjacent scenes, the viewer
sees tacky tarts hustling johns on a
dirty back street and the ever-poised
Simone maneuvering through a
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lobby in evening attire. Another
especially vivid image is the cage-like
elevator of Simone's apartment
building which graphically shows the
heroine's trapped existence.
A secondary theme of "Mona
Lisa" might be men's attitudes
toward women. A black and white
polarization becomes apparent with
the introduction of two villains.
Mortwell (Michael Caine) and And
erson (Clarke Peters), as foils for
George. Mortwell is George and
Simone's boss, the crooked leader of
a porn and prostitution ring, and
Anderson is one of his sadistic pimps.
These two treat women as easy
targets for violence and abuse, as
disposable trash.;
Early in the film. George explains
to his friend Thomas (Robbie Col
traine) that "Angels are men."
Whether or not this is true, he
certainly tries to live up to the role
by becoming a guardian angel to
Simone and several other prostitutes.
His attitude toward these women is
protective and quasi-paternal, yet
never judgmental or patronizing. His
concern is genuine and pure.
In "Mona Lisa."as in most movies,
quality comes from the skillful
combination of all production
aspects. This is without a doubt a
classy film. Its overall effect is moving .
and beautiful, yet tinged with the
melancholy produced by encounter
ing gritty reality.
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