Remember That Movie: Leon (aka The Professional)
In case you don’t remember, Léon opens with an incredible action sequence wherein a man comes out of nowhere and quickly takes out a dozen goons until he silently sneaks up way to his target, putting a knife to his throat, only to disappear into the dark.
The silent assassin’s name is Léon. He lives alone. He drinks lots of milk and takes great care of a single plant. He loves Gene Kelly musicals. And he sleeps in a chair with one eye open and a gun at his side. This duality of a man, who kills coldly for money, yet has compassion and love in him help make Léon a fascinating character. Then we learn he only takes jobs against drug-dealers and upholds a code against killing women and children. There’s more to this man than anybody who encounters him lives long enough to learn.
Natalie Portman plays Mathilda. Her family lives just down the hall from Léon, unaware of his day job. Mathilda’s father (Michael Badalucco) is a coke dealer and her mother and sister are cruel and selfish, which leaves her 4 year-old brother as Mathilda’s only solace in life. When her father is caught at a lie he and the rest of Mathilda’s family are brutally murdered while she is out grocery shopping. When Mathilda arrives, moments later, she seeks refuge from those responsible in Léon’s apartment. Mathilda soon discovers Léon’s secret life and tries hiring him to kill her family’s assassins. Léon refuses, already regretting having saved her. She instead talks Léon into making her his protégé, learning the skills of a hitman so she can eventually take them out herself.
Mathilda is an interesting and somewhat controversial character. Here is a 12 year-old girl who smokes, cusses, hates her abusive family, forces her way into a life of brutal violence, yet is still a child. She watches Transformers cartoons and plays charades. She also precociously falls for her much-older protector (a source of discomfort in the States that led to the release of a different cut of the film dubbed The Professional). She’s lived a tough life that’s hardened her a bit even before her family’s murder.
Mathilda is not beyond compassion. In fact, the only reason she targets her would-be assassins is because they killed her little brother. “What the hell did he ever do?” she asks. Also, while assisting many of Léon’s hits, Mathilda torches the targets’ supply of drugs as a means of preventing other kids from growing up in environments like hers. Not to mention, she falls for the very person teaching her how to be a cold-blooded killer.
The chemistry between Portman and Reno is nothing short of fantastic. Reno starts their companionship with uneasiness, briefly contemplating killing Mathilda in her sleep, then becomes indifferent, playful, and then finally regarding Mathilda like a father would his daughter, which makes his discomfort over Mathilda’s advances all the more understandable. Regardless of the specifics of their feelings for each other, their bond grows so that it’s clear they would do anything to protect one another.
Luc Besson went on to direct The Fifth Element, arguably his most popular film, and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, which was a considerable disappointment. For the most part, he’s been away from the camera since only to return with an animated feature called Arthur and the Invisibles. He has mostly served as writer for such action films as The Transporter trilogy, Unleashed, District B13, and the La Femme Nikita TV series.
Léon was inspired by Jean Reno’s role in La Femme Nikita, also directed by Luc Besson. It also marked Reno’s English-language debut. Hollywood came calling afterward and, as is often the case with foreign stars that cross over to Tinsletown, Reno never found as good a role. He was constantly side-lined in such clunkers as French Kiss, Godzilla, Rollerball, and The Pink Panther remake, as well as more respectable fare like Mission: Impossible, Ronin, and Hotel Rwanda. Reno has yet to score a lead role like Léon since.
Natalie Portman, on the other hand, has been much luckier. This talented actress with the sunny-sweet disposition went on to play in everything from chick flicks and science-fiction sagas to character-driven dramas and bit parts in offbeat comedies. It’s hard to believe the same woman from Garden State was also the insecure ballerina in Black Swan or the protégés of V for Vendetta and Léon; such is the astonishing range Portman has developed over the years. This year she will further display her range by playing in last weekend’s sex comedy No Strings Attached, the superhero flick Thor, the mother/son dramedy The Other Woman, and the fantasy comedy Your Highness. On top of all that, Portman is considered a front-runner for the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Black Swan. Portman has grown to be one of the most respected talents of her generation.
I should mention Léon also features another great performance by Gary Oldman, who starred as Dracula two years earlier, as the creepy and insane DEA officer Stansfield responsible for Mathilda’s situation. Gary Oldman continued his chameleonic career with great success in roles both villainous and virtuous (but usually villainous) in The Fifth Element, Air Force One, Hannibal, the Harry Potter series, and Christopher Nolan’s Batman films.
These three leads come together for a great time in Léon, an excellent action film about love and compassion existing in a cold, brutal world. It is equal parts humorous, exciting, and intense. It is a must-see for any fans of action and crime films as it clearly influenced many films since. I can’t recommend it enough.
8/10
Should you see it? Rent
Léon is available on Blu-ray as Léon: The Professional, featuring two different versions in hi-def, and on DVD in three different editions, including the US release known as The Professional.