#58: Léon (1994)
Starring: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman
Directed by: Luc Besson
Plot: a 12-year-old girl is befriended by a hitman after her family is gunned down and he teaches her his trade.
But is it any good?
All I knew about Léon (called The Professional in the US) before I watched it last night was that Natalie Portman did a good job at a young age and that it was a little controversial. Well, I don’t see the controversial side, unless you’re shocked by a 12-year-old dressing up and singing Madonna.
It’s an intense film. Firstly because Mathilda’s family is mean to her, then because they’re cold-bloodedly gunned down by a deranged DA dude (Oldman, ever the convincing bad guy) who gets off on Beethoven, crunching pills and killing people who don’t want to die. The scene where Mathilda comes home with the milk and sees all the blood, then calmly walks on Leon’s flat and rings the doorbell, quietly crying and begging to be let in… well, I was on the edge of my seat.
I didn’t need to be convinced of Natalie Portman’s ability to act, because I’ve seen Closer (we don’t need to talk Star Wars), but she was just a kid when this was filmed and yet is utterly convincing as a child who goes from sad delinquent to assassin. Jean Reno also adds depth as Léon, who’s spent his life alone and is now discovering the joys of caring for someone (WITHOUT any icky Lolita-style stuff happening).
Léon is a very good suspense film/thriller, and at its core is the story of two damaged people who find each other. The ending is great, too.
My rating: 9/10
IMDb’s rating: 8.5/10
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Saturday, January 5th, 2008 at 9:58 pm under
