The Jolly St Ermin’s Hotel in Westminster is a gloriously salmon pink brick structure that epitomizes the great British hotel. It is full of that distinctively British charm and boasts a magnificent art nouveau interior that although is quite grand, still feels very welcoming to the weary traveller.
The facade is so recognizable it was used as a filming location for Neil Jordan’s Mona Lisa (1986). The movie is a slice of life in the British underworld of small time criminals in the 1980s, and the title refers more to the 1950 hit song by Nat King Cole than to the famed portrait by Leonardo Da Vinci.
In the film, George (Bob Hoskins) is a petty criminal freshly released after a 7 year sentence he received by taking the fall for gangland boss Mortwell (Michael Caine).
After being rejected by his wife, he turns to Mortwell who hires him on as a driver for one of his high class call girls, Simone (Cathy Tyson). The pair initially dislike one another; George dismisses Simone as a “tall black tart” and she bemoans his shabby attire and generally lower class demeanour. Simone sets about improving George with better clothes and information about the finer things in life.
One of the turning points of the film is when George picks Simone up at the Jolly St Ermin’s Hotel wearing dashing new clothing, obviously enjoying his job chauffeuring a classy lady about town.
George and Simone come to appreciate the souls hiding behind their own facades, and George begins to see Simone as a fine lady, ignoring her line of work and putting her up on a dangerous pedestal. As you might expect, things quickly get complicated for the characters, and nothing turns out to be an simple as it seems in this modern film noir.
The Jolly St Ermin’s is very a nice place to visit, whether you have seen this film or not.
Visiting Jolly St Ermin's
Address: Jolly St Ermin's, 2 Caxton Street, London, Westminster, SW1H 0QW
Telephone: 020 7437 4370
Photo courtesy: cyanocorax
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