MONA LISA
Five years after The Long Good Friday, Bob Hoskins returned to the gangster genre, but his character George is a mere underling this time, a chauffeur hired by a mesmerisingly slimy gangland kingpin (Michael Caine) to transport a high-class prostitute (Cathy Tyson) from client to client. When she enlists his help in tracking down an old friend, George finds himself exploring a hellish underworld that he never imagined existed. Hoskins’ immensely complex, subtle and moving performance hoovered up almost every Best Actor award going (Cannes, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe) and remains one of his greatest roles – a man sucked by circumstance into a life of crime but still righteous enough to seize the opportunity to do good when it presents itself.