Mona Lisa (1986)

There weren't many films of note that came out of Britain in the 1980's. We didn't do blockbusters, and there wasn't much CGI. Handmade Films, owned in part by George Harrison, made one or two notable ones, in particular this:

It's a Film Noire. The protagonist is an ex-con called George, played by Bob Hoskins, who is hired by his old boss Mortwell, played by Michael Caine, as a driver for an expensive escort Simone, played by Kathy Tyson. Mortwell's motive is to get George to find any blackmail material on Simone's clients, but Simone manages to turn the tables on Mortwell and she and George form a bond while she uses him to look for a friend who's embroiled in the seedy world of London vice.

They do find the friend, but instead of a happy ever after, the gangsters catch up with the trio and there's a gun fight, Simone and Mortwell being killed. George confides in a friend Tom, played by Robbie Coltrane, who's supplied him with detective novels while he was in jail. At the end, George is forlorn at the death of Simone and they discuss what has happened, ponder on the nature of love and whether George had made any real difference to Simone's fate.

The film won a host of awards, but missed out at the Oscars, and it's a film worth watching even now.