Mona Lisa
George is a small-time crook just out of prison who discovers his tough-guy image is out of date. Reduced to working as a minder/driver for high class call girl Simone, he has to agree when she asks him to find a young colleague from her King's Cross days. That's when George's troubles just start.
The film earned $5.8M at the global box office.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Mona Lisa (1986) demonstrates carefully calibrated plot construction, characteristic of Neil Jordan's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 45 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.3, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes George, freshly released from prison, returns to London and reunites with his daughter Jeannie and friend Thomas. He's a small-time ex-con looking for work, displaced and searching for his place in a changed world.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Denny Mortwell assigns George a job he considers beneath him: chauffeur for Simone, a high-class Black call girl. George is insulted and resistant, but needs the money and owes Denny for taking the prison fall.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 27 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to George commits to truly helping Simone after she opens up slightly about the dangers of her work. He buys her a dress, and she accepts it—marking a shift from hostility to tentative alliance. He chooses to be her protector, not just her driver., moving from reaction to action.
At 53 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat George finally locates Cathy in a sleazy hotel and rescues her, bringing her to Simone. It seems like a victory—he's succeeded in his quest, and Simone embraces him with gratitude. But the nature of Simone and Cathy's relationship remains ambiguous to George., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 79 minutes (76% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, George walks in on Simone and Cathy together in bed, finally understanding that they are lovers. His romantic fantasy is shattered completely. The woman he imagined himself saving and winning has been using him all along, and his illusions die in this devastating moment., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 85 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Despite his heartbreak, George learns that Anderson has Simone and Cathy and plans to kill them. He chooses to help them anyway—not out of romantic delusion now, but out of genuine humanity. He synthesizes his working-class loyalty with clear-eyed understanding., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Mona Lisa's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Mona Lisa against these established plot points, we can identify how Neil Jordan utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Mona Lisa within the crime genre.
Neil Jordan's Structural Approach
Among the 10 Neil Jordan films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Mona Lisa represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Neil Jordan filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Batman Forever and 12 Rounds. For more Neil Jordan analyses, see The End of the Affair, The Brave One and The Crying Game.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
George, freshly released from prison, returns to London and reunites with his daughter Jeannie and friend Thomas. He's a small-time ex-con looking for work, displaced and searching for his place in a changed world.
Theme
Thomas tells George about the nature of love and illusion, suggesting that what we see in people isn't always what's really there—introducing the film's central theme about perception, obsession, and the dangerous romanticism of fallen men.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to George's world: his estrangement from his wife and daughter, his friendship with Thomas, his loyalty to mob boss Denny Mortwell, and his need to re-establish himself. We see his working-class values and rough edges.
Disruption
Denny Mortwell assigns George a job he considers beneath him: chauffeur for Simone, a high-class Black call girl. George is insulted and resistant, but needs the money and owes Denny for taking the prison fall.
Resistance
George reluctantly begins working for Simone. Their relationship is hostile—she finds him crude, he finds her cold and ungrateful. He resists the job, complains to Thomas, but gradually begins to see glimpses of vulnerability beneath Simone's hard exterior.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
George commits to truly helping Simone after she opens up slightly about the dangers of her work. He buys her a dress, and she accepts it—marking a shift from hostility to tentative alliance. He chooses to be her protector, not just her driver.
Mirror World
Simone reveals she's searching for Cathy, a young woman trapped in street prostitution whom she desperately wants to save. This relationship becomes the emotional mirror that will teach George about the nature of his feelings and the reality behind his romantic illusions.
Premise
George becomes increasingly devoted to Simone, searching the streets of King's Cross for Cathy. He navigates the dangerous underworld of pimps and prostitutes, growing protective and falling in love with Simone while helping her quest, blind to the true nature of their relationship.
Midpoint
George finally locates Cathy in a sleazy hotel and rescues her, bringing her to Simone. It seems like a victory—he's succeeded in his quest, and Simone embraces him with gratitude. But the nature of Simone and Cathy's relationship remains ambiguous to George.
Opposition
George's romantic obsession with Simone deepens even as signs accumulate that she doesn't reciprocate his feelings. Anderson, a sadistic client and pimp, becomes a threat. George's jealousy and possessiveness grow. Denny Mortwell pressures him for information about Simone's clients.
Collapse
George walks in on Simone and Cathy together in bed, finally understanding that they are lovers. His romantic fantasy is shattered completely. The woman he imagined himself saving and winning has been using him all along, and his illusions die in this devastating moment.
Crisis
George reels from the revelation, feeling betrayed and humiliated. His dreams of love and redemption through Simone lie in ruins. He confronts his own foolishness and the painful gap between his romantic fantasies and harsh reality.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Despite his heartbreak, George learns that Anderson has Simone and Cathy and plans to kill them. He chooses to help them anyway—not out of romantic delusion now, but out of genuine humanity. He synthesizes his working-class loyalty with clear-eyed understanding.
Synthesis
George confronts Anderson in a violent showdown, killing him to save Simone and Cathy. He then confronts Denny Mortwell, rejecting his old criminal loyalty. He helps the two women escape, accepting that they will be together without him, choosing their freedom over his feelings.
Transformation
George returns to Thomas's apartment alone. He's lost his illusions but gained wisdom and dignity. He sits with Thomas, older and sadder but more genuine—no longer a romantic fool, but a man who can see clearly and act with real rather than fantasized honor.