Mona Lisa 1986

Critics score:
97 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Vincent Canby, New York Times: It's like watching the departure of an ocean liner. After all of the initial excitement, you're left on the dock, alone, wondering what all the fuss was about. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: In an era when movies about love almost always invariably devolve into formulaic affairs, Neil Jordan's Mona Lisa stands out as an often-surprising, multi-layered achievement. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The movie's ending is a little too neat for my taste. But in a movie like this, everything depends on atmosphere and character, and Mona Lisa knows exactly what it is doing. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: No wonder audiences have taken to this gritty romance as to a mongrel puppy; for at heart Mona Lisa is an old-fashioned poor-soul weepie, and George is less a Cagney rakehell than a Chaplin tramp. Read more

Derek Adams, Time Out: A wonderful achievement, a dark film with a generous heart in the shape of an extraordinarily touching performance from Hoskins. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: Skillfully combines comedy and thriller, romance and sleaze. Read more