If you have been following along, you’ll know that I’ve been spinning the Wheel of Destiny and letting that govern which leftover movie from 2022 I would write about. However, that only applied to the backlog of movies from last year I had actually seen. The wheel doesn’t take into account any outstanding ’22 films that I have yet to see, so the plan was to watch one to catch up and write about one to tackle the backlog.
I was all prepared last night to sit down and cross one of the higher-profile Netflix titles from last year off my list, but none of them were shorter than two-and-a-half hours and I didn’t want to start one of those after nine o’clock, so I decided to pivot. Suddenly, I remembered there was a colorful and intriguing indie film that I had chosen as my Editor’s Pick for a Release Radar sometime in the latter part of 2022 but it never came to a theater near me and I just moved on during one of the busiest times of the year. I felt oddly compelled to rectify that and decided to read back through those release previews until I found it, and I am infinitely glad I did because I found something that slingshotted its way right up there with my favorite films of ’22. That’s why it’s getting bumped in today.
There is a high probability that this isn’t going to work for a lot of people. Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon was a rejuvenating experience that help remind me of why I love movies and is a fantastic example of fresh, modern cinema that has become a popular cliche to say doesn’t exist anymore.
Right out of the gates, we jump feet-first into the high-security wing of a mental institution where we see a young woman in a straight jacket. Some assumptions can be made but we have no real context for why and it just ramps up from there. That’s what the heck I’m talking about! I usually include a brief overview of the story but a.) I don’t think I could do it justice and b.) it’s better to go into this one without the preface. I had no idea what I was getting into and, even though my personality is always trying to puzzle solve, I couldn’t pin down where this one was headed and the experience was all the better for it.
I felt in the minority of those who really liked Ana Lily Amirpour’s sophomore feature The Bad Batch but I’m really glad that she decided to push further down the strange and dark corridors of her imagination. I love that each of her visions has clearly defined color palettes and we’ve seen that evolution in her work visually, going from a black-and-white ghost town in Iran to the earthy tones of the dystopian desert to neon-drenched urban New Orleans in this most recent feature.
All of her film leads have been young women in dangerous environments and I appreciate her varying styles in approach. In this instance, her lead character is just sort of at the mercy of being used by whoever she comes across but I love that Amirpour turned a lot of the conventional story beats upside down. For example, when there’s a young woman alone, at night, in a foreign environment, and she stumbles across a group of people drinking, we have been conditioned to basically know what’s going to happen there. I don’t want to give away too much but her script handles stuff like that very differently. Those choices went a long way in keeping you on your toes throughout the film and are some of my favorite things about it.
Another big piece in that is the combination of the soundtrack and the score. First of all, the soundtrack is awesome and I’ve had a great time listening to tracks from Federale, Bottin & Rodion, and Gry Bagøien again today. It’s filled with energy and attitude and it certainly fuels the unique vibe of this movie. Secondly, the original music by Daniele Luppi has a different thing going on and reminded me a lot of the Sex and the City theme music. Having that dichotomy keeps you instinctually off balance when trying to identify tone. The score is playful and inquisitive and allows the film to flirt with serious darkness without necessarily riding the wave that usually comes along with that. It was a very interesting technique that certainly had my compass spinning.
There are some very eccentric characters in this movie too and some bold casting choices to take on those roles. Jeon Jong-seo does a great job in the lead as Mona Lisa, but I will circle back to that. Kate Hudson playing an opportunistic stripper is definitely one of the highlights of the film. She selfishly takes Mona Lisa under her wing but it’s watching Hudson cut loose with profanity-laced tirades and neglecting her responsibilities as a mom as she chases easy paydays that really punctuates the performance.
I have some vague memories of seeing Ed Skrein looking like a weirdo in the trailer and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This was released around the same time as another project he had out, but for my money, him being the awkward drug-dealing white boy who’s hanging out around the liquor store is where it’s at. I also just read that the role was being floated for Zac Efron and I can totally see that. Skrein fits the bill for creepy characters we have seen in other movies, but he may surprise you here.
When I first saw Craig Robinson pop up, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He has cut his teeth in so many comedic roles, it was hard to gauge what he was going to bring to this film. He isn’t the comic relief here but he has a definitive kind of energy that is still very much present in his portrayal of a police officer who becomes obsessed with trying to figure out who Mona Lisa is. He has a couple of scenes that are pretty damn frightening in their own way and it was good to see him go against the grain. His delivery still maintains the tones of his comedy roles but works to break that down over the film.
Circling back, I would be curious to know how much Jong-seo knew about her character because she embodies the naive inquisitive nature of Mona Lisa so well. It’s almost like a child that is being exposed to the world for the first time, and since we don’t get any backstory for her character, it’s all the more impressive. She doesn’t really know what’s happening most of the time but she doesn’t shy away from confrontation either, and that’s an impressive character trait. Even with that, she still manages the finer notes of empathy with the character and it goes a long way in making her worth cheering for.
In a cast filled with very colorful characters that Natalie O’Brien probably had a blast costuming, the most impressive performance in the bunch might just belong to Evan Whitten who plays the son of Hudson’s Bonnie Bell(e). He’s obviously traumatized by his mom’s behavior and resents Mona Lisa for somehow stepping into the light of his mother’s affection, but Amirpour wrote this kid with such a big heart and so much maturity that it’s easy to see why Mona takes a liking to him. I really didn’t expect him to be such a central part of the story, but Whitten is a massive reason why I wound up being so invested in the journey.
I talked about the visual aesthetic of this film a little bit earlier and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski did some really cool stuff with how he framed his shots. Working with Ari Aster on some well-known projects likely helped frame some of the creative choices here. There are some intense one-on-one staredowns that feature some cool snap zooms, and off-center interior shots, and almost every shot is punctuated with a distinct color. The first scene in the psych ward is a soft pink, the New Orleans street scenes are a warm yellow-orange, the strip club scenes are hyper neon, and the scenes with Skrein’s character’s apartment in full black-light flourescent. This was a really enjoyable film to watch.
As the film is reaching its conclusion, I was fully invested in the Mona Lisa’s story. It hit the emotional chords of some of my favorite feel-good films of the last few years but did so in a way that felt decidedly more adult. I wanted her to win in a big way. The fact that I didn’t know if she would win in the end tickled my anticipatory centers in a way that isn’t common. Another factor in my cheering for the underdog was a selfish desire to see more of this character and I really, really would love a sequel to this film. So, pardon me while I champion for that to become a reality.
It is always nice to stumble across a pleasant surprise, but it’s especially rewarding when the surprise is even more than I could have hoped for. I thought my 2022 cinematic snapshot was more or less closed out and I was getting prepped for my year-end awards show, but this film has me questioning whether or not I got any of that other stuff right. That’s amazing!
Recommendation: See it for its style, its unconventional storytelling decisions, and a number of vibrant performances that I couldn’t take my eyes off of.
Thanks for reading! I still believe word of mouth is the best way to help, so if you enjoy what I’m doing, please tell somebody. And if you have a comment, I’d love to hear it! Liking, subscribing, and sharing go a long way too. As usual, be well, be safe, and have fun no matter how you get your movies!