Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon * * * ½

Independent film maker Ana Lily Amirpour also gave us the celebrated A Girl Walks Home Alone.  This has a similar theme to that with an unusually empowered young woman kicking arse.  She is well played by Korean actress, Jeon Jong-seo.

When we first meet Mona she is in a straight jacket in isolation in a mental institution and being mistreated.  But suddenly Mona turns on her tormentor and forces her tormentor to self harm by using some kind of Jedi power - an irresistible hypnosis.

Where Mona Lisa's power comes from is not explained - ever. I can only assume it is to be found in the title.   Mona Lisa breaks out of the institution and wanders off.  Hobbling along the train track barefoot, with bedraggled hair, and still wearing her straight jacket.  In the sky we see a full moon with a red tinge (has this Luna phenomena evoked her power?)

Bonnie and Mona the pscyho hypno girl

Looking like the pscyho which she is, Mona walks into town - New Orleans.  Unlikely people are kind to her, giving her shoes and food. Meanwhile the cops have been informed and are looking for her.  One cop corners her. Using her power, she gets him to shoot himself in the leg.

She meets a guy called Fuzz and we are glad she gets away from him.  He looks dodgy.

In the car park of  a diner she comes across Bonnie who is engaged in a girl-fight, she helps Bonnie out by using her power to get her opponent to beat herself up.  Bonnie takes Mona Lisa home.  We learn that Bonnie works as a stripper.  She is also a single mum to neglected ten year old Charlie. Bonnie is a thoroughly unattractive young woman who actually steals the show in that she is such a fully developed character we understand her selfishness and greed. It's a brilliant performance from Kate Hudson.

Bonnie takes Mona to the strip club to hypnotise the guys into emptying their wallets.  More than that, in the day she gets Mona to hypnotise people drawing money from ATM's so they will hand their withdrawal's over.  

In the meantime Charlie and Mona develop a friendship.  With Charlie unhappy at home and Mona needing to get away they hatch a plan.   Re-enter - the cop with one leg who is focussed on catching her and re-enter Fuzz, who turns out to be quite a different character than what we first believed him to be.

There are some very moving scenes especially between Charlie and Mona.  There are also quite a few very funny scenes.  It's an enjoyable ride but you kind of wish it had been more passionate, more angry, more funny or more sentimental.  Despite the fine acting and highlights, there is just a sense of uncommitted about it and I really don't know why.   But it's well worth a viewing and it's a hell of a lot better than some movies out there with ten times the budget.