(US/France 1994/1996 132m) DVD1/2
Aka. The Professional
Me, Natalie!
p/d/w Luc Besson ph Thierry Arbogast ed Sylvie Landra m Eric Serra art Dan Weil
Jean Reno (Leon), Natalie Portman (Mathilda), Gary Oldman (Stansfield), Danny Aiello (Big Tony), Peter Appel, Michael Badalucco, Ellen Greene, Elizabeth Regen,
Every so often someone appears on screen for the first time and you say to yourself “God, the camera loves you.” One such moment came here with the arrival onscreen of Natalie Portman, her legs dangling between the railings of her upper floor apartment landing. She looks a moppet, you just know this girl is wise beyond her years, but what we perhaps don’t expect is the most fearlessly precocious performance from a thirteen year old in American film since Jodie Foster. The similarity even stretched to both showing an inherent disregard for acting in their formative late teen years and turning towards academia to prove the fierce intelligence their performances had already told those with eyes to see. Besson knew she was on the verge, too, always dressing her in shorts and minis, with that Louise Brooks bob. It’s perhaps the knowing attitude towards Portman’s budding sexuality that made the film so disturbing to some critics.
The eponymous Leon is a hitman, or a cleaner as he terms it, hired out by a Little Italy bigwig for various termination jobs. One day his solitary life is gate-crashed by thirteen year old Mathilda, who he lets into his flat to save her life when her family are all killed by corrupt narcotics cops after a stash hidden by Mathilda’s father. He warms to Mathilda, but his protection starts to erode his anonymity and eventually Mathilda’s desire for vengeance on the bad guys result in Leon making a fateful decision.
Besson is not necessarily a filmmaker I like, epitomising the ‘style over substance’ of cinema du look, but Leon has what all his other films don’t have, an emotional core. The likes of The Fifth Element might be the sort of films that a 13 year old might think was the bee’s knees. Maybe even Mathilda herself. As one might expect from a Besson film, the photography is expert, and Serra’s arabesque score catches the film’s heartbeat superbly, but this is a film about performances. A word about Oldman, deliriously o.t.t.; indeed the most o.t.t. performance seen on screen since Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet, and similarly both making and breaking the film depending on your taste. What we will say is that one cannot take one’s eyes off him, opening bead curtains with matchless finesse. As the eponymous hitman, Reno has certainly never been better or more appealing, a solitary marksman who gets his few rays of sunshine at the movies watching Gene Kelly in It’s Always Fair Weather, as if Besson is reminding us that this is a fairy tale, a fantasy, and not meant to be taken as serious drama. Nonetheless, in amongst the definite homages to the ultra-cool hitmen of movie yore, of Suzuki and Melville, Leon suddenly finds himself transformed into Humbert Humbert with his own lethal Lolita. In this extended version the relationship goes into disturbing areas that may provoke uneasiness in certain viewers, with Mathilda mistaking her surrogate father for a potential lover and indulging in a crush. That it doesn’t become distasteful is testament to Besson and his actors, but particularly Portman. It makes it all the sadder then that the next decade of her film career – though no-one can call a Psychology degree from Harvard a waste of time – was a non-event, with those endless Star Wars prequels, but we got the warning of her return in a superb bit in Cold Mountain. Finally, there she was in Closer, and that magical moment where she’s seen in that purple wig – another Brooks bob, too – in the strip club and looks back at the camera over her shoulder. The knowing look instantly says “this is Mathilda, did you miss me?“ And just like Mathilda when comparing her youngest hit with Leon, when she strolls through that crowd along a New York street at the end of the later film, you can almost hear her telling Jude Law’s journo “beat ya!“
Now this one I like, even though I don’t care much for “The Fifth Element.” Is this the director of “La Femme Nikita”?
Love this film. Features great performances by Reno, Portman, and Oldman… and, yeah, it’s pretty sad that Portman, who still has so much potential as an actress, has so many stinkers to her name. She really stands out, though, in Cold Mountain, Closer, and even Garden State.
And Frank: Yes, Luc Besson also directed La Femme Nikita.
K, my talented colleague, Allan Fish of the U.K., who wrote this review (and many others) shot me a sarcastic but humorous missive this morning when I told him I never saw this film, and I apologize to you and him for somehow allowing this one to elude me. I did see LA FEMME NIKITA of course and THE FIFTH ELEMENT, but I never caught up with it. Your effusive recommendation is more than enough for me though, and I will watch it as soon as I can.
I agree there what you say of Portman’s catalogue though. Thank you.
Glad you agree re Portman in Cold Mountain, k, she was easily the best thing in it within 10 mins of screen time, and I agree she was good in Garden State, too, but Leon and Closer remain her major performances and major films.
Sam, get Leon watched, though I wonder if you missed the aka at the beginning of the review giving the ridiculous alternative title in the US.
Leon is worth all Besson’s other work put together.
I am a big fan of “The Professional” and have seen it multiple times. Surprised you never saw this Sam!
I agree with Allan, that Besson’s filmmaking is typically of the FLASH! BANG! LOOK! variety, a French Tony Scott if there ever was one, but this film is marvelous, because (as Allan noted) at it’s heart is a surprisingly tender emotional core. It’s a love story between a girl who is older than her years and a man who is really just a child – in some ways, they are perfect for one another.
The opening sequence, where Leon is never fully shown, but bad guys keep disappearing into the shadows and over stairwells, is superb filmmaking. You can see Chris Nolan copying that scene when Batman first shows up in Batman Begins.
This is Besson’s greatest film, a true masterpiece, and given his recent output, it’s unlikely he’ll ever match it again.
Damn right, it’s like the Eiffel Tower in amongst a row of terraced houses.
Evan, that is as enthusiastic a reaction as I’ve seen on any film. Your writing is terrific as always.
I have since discovered that I have indeed seen this film, but didn’t process it’s “other” name, which Allan provides as the a.k.a. What you and Allan say Evan, about the film’s emotional core would surely quality it as one of the best of it’s kind. Of course LA FEMME NIKITA has its admirers too.
I love that comparison there with Nolan and BATMAN BEGINS!
Must agree with Mr. Evan Derrick on that opening scene. That is worth the price of admission alone. Great idea to bring this action film back, it’s been imitated but rarely equaled. Exceptional review too. K is right too about Rachel Portman.
Terrific review here, Allan. I’m not a fan of Besson, either, but this film did win me over. You’ve certainly captured exactly what makes Natalie Portman so compulsively watchable, and recently so sexy. And you’re dead-on–she was by far, easily, the best thing about Cold Mountain in her brief, largely quiet role.
Gary Oldman is having quite the blast being so astonishingly over-the-top here. It sticks out more than Dennis Hopper in Lynch’s masterpiece, however, partly because with Lynch, nothing seems barred.
Couldn’t agree more, Alexander.
Gary Oldman scares me here. I think I wet my pants when he’s popping pills, discussing Beethoven, and shotgunning down and entire family.
He’s just so much fun, you forgive him for being o.t.t. Though many will say that the best thing to come out of the Oldman and Besson partnership was that Besson helped Oldman get his directorial debut Nil by Mouth made, hence getting an exec prod credit.
I always liked the way Portman described the central relationship of the film. I don’t remember her exact words, but she described Leon and Mathilda as two lonely people who find one another in a grave yard. I wish I could remember what she said exactly.
For me, Portman was easily the best part of Cold Mountain. It is just really refreshing to see her that intense and uninhibited, even for barely ten minutes of screen time. Hers was the most poignant and powerful story in Cold Mountain, and it was certainly more compelling than the love story, largely due to Portman’s performance.
I think her work on Closer is her career best. She and Clive Owen run off with that film, and their couple of scenes together are just extraordinary to watch.
And Gary Oldman scares me in Leon as well. He’s just a total psychopath. Oldman is one of the greats.
K, I was not a fan of CLOSER, but Allan Fish loves the film quite a bit and gave it the highest rating. I do feel like I missed something since my wife loved it as well as my best friends.
As far as Portman being the best thing in COLD MOUNTAIN, I agree with you there 100%. I actually liked that film in the end, and even had a good word to say about Ms. Zelwegger.
As far as Oldman being “one of the all-time greats” I can’t challenge you there. That seems dead-on accurate to me.
Thanks again for your excellent insights and knowledge of cinema, K.
Okay, Leon is a good action film…cross that, its a great action film and the placement is about right, but I won’t agree that it should be placed above Naked. But that aside, this is a great action film in a decade that has produced some of the greatest action films ever (including my all time favorite, Hard Boiled). Its a well acted film with Natalie Portman giving a pretty good debut and Jean Reno giving the performance of his career. I also can’t go on without mentioning Gary Oldman; an actor who’s debut performance was one of the best film history portraying beautifully the punk rock and roll legend Sid Vicious and going on to do other great performances in films like Prick Up Your Ears, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, and of course State of Grace. Yet, Oldman started to decline in the 90s doing odd performances that, while were fun and interesting, were getting over-looked or tagged with the words “over-the-top.” (films like True Romance and Air Force One for example). Leon might have featured the strangest of those performances, because while he was over the top, it was still a really good performance. It was along the same vain with a performance like Al Pacino in Scarface (the textbook example of an over-the-top yet effective performance). Sometime the guy doesn’t get the respect he truly deserves especially for giving exceptional performances in films that, for a lack of a better word, suck (Ex: Hannibal, not a horrible film but one that could have been better, or The Contender, just atrocious). The film also deals with some topics not normally found in the genre like the “interesting” relationship between the leads, but handles them pretty well. My biggest problem with the film might be the fact that the ending (after the phenomenal action sequence) kind of drags, but its a great film nonetheless with stylish film making and Luc Besson’s greatest achievement (if that’s saying much).
Another one I’ve seen? How could I not, with a Portman crush in my teens (fear not, it was my early teens)? Actually, in some ways, the long-cut Leon is LESS risque – there’s the scene where she tries to seduce Leon and he resists her, true; but the shorter version cuts that and leaves in the “morning-after” scene where she’s in bed with him – if anything, that’s more suggestive and disturbing.
And yeah, I really enjoyed Oldman’s ridiculously over-the-top histronics here – he always seems to have a lot of fun with these types of roles.
Btw, I was not a fan of Closer at all, which I found artificial, overwritten, and smug. Only have seen it once, though – and many of my friends were fans.
I’m gonna be the nay-sayer here. I like this film a lot, don’t get me wrong. Its a visceral little action picture with solid editing, heart-pumping music and well done turns by the cast. But, to take this film and feature it amongst the best of a decade, I feel, is giving it far more praise than it warrants. As qan entertainment I feel it succeeds wonderfully, but I wouldn’t hang my critical reputation on it otherwise. Oldman is effectively slimy (find it interesting that he comments on Beethoven when he’ll play the famed composer a few films later) and Portman is a find. I don’t know though, is Allan praising the film all around or is he basing his assessment on Portman? If its on the actress alone, I think, then the placement seems a little gratuitous. IMO. Good film, just not a totally great one.
No, not at all, Dennis, a performance doesn’t make a film, I just like it a great deal more than you. As for Portman, it’s merely when she’s good. We’ve had awful trash like the Star Wars films, Hotel Chevalier, Goya’s Ghosts, Garden State, Mr Magorium and miscasting in the likes of My Blueberry Nights, Indeed, I think Leon, Closer and Beautiful Things are the only major performances she’s given.
And, by the way, my comment above is not meant to bash the author of the featured essay. My opinion is on this film is mine alone.
On the subject of Portman. I’ll add her extrodinary turn as the bright 13 year old who gets a rise out of Timothy Hutton in BEAUTIFUL GIRLS. She was, as I said in my prior comment, a find when she burst onto the screen in LEON. I’ll also agree with Allan that CLOSER is a great film, by a superior director and that Portman’s performance is seductively sexy, touching and brilliant.
I would also second Portman’s wise-beyond-her-years performance in the underrated BEAUTIFUL GIRLS. She was fantastic in that film. I also have a soft spot for her in the recent MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER EMPORIUM which got savaged by the critics but I think is a wonderful love letter to old school toys like slinkys, lego, etc.
I Absolutely hated this film. In fact, I despise this shoddy horrid little piece of rubbish. Didn’t feel anything for the assasin and his relationship with the little girl made me sqiurm. Typical of the French to fetishise a 13 year old. And that was with the shorter version of this film. But for art anything is allowed.
Add to that, shallow, modern movie-style machsimo action, striking cool poses, blasting and pumping away with two hand guns, people hiding in ceilings. arrrrhhhhh.
As for Portman, she bored me to – maybe because the whole film did. In the Star Wars films, she was as flat as her co-star love interest and needed a Clark Gable like spanking to awaken her up beyond that life-less, I’m a princess persona. Haven’t seen the others she’s been in, but she was excellent in ‘Paris, Je T’Aime’.
Unlike a craftsman, I don’t think a director of such limited shallowness and poor taste can hit the ball out of the park and make a masterpiece.
This film belongs in my Golden Turkey Awards for the decade.
We’ll agree to violently disagree.
Gotcha Allan. I was aliitle unclear about it when I read the essay. By no way did I wanna make you think I was getting cocky or trying to step on your toes. Thanx for the reply. Dennis
I am actually a dissenter on this one too… just seemed a slightly above-average movie to me. Although I feel nowhere near as strongly about it as bobby J., I have to concur with the fact that I felt very little toward Leon… it just wasn’t believable to me, like he was playing a caricature of a hitman but trying to do so very seriously. I’ll agree that Portman is very good, but Oldman was a little too much for me. I actually prefer his over-the-top antics in True Romance, which is done much more tongue in check and is meant to be laughed at.
So I’m not arguing against it’s inclusion and it’s definitely a good movie… just not one I would personally include on the list. At the risk of being redundant though, Allan, another fine essay. Even when I disagree with a selection, your essays make me think that I might need to go re-watch because I might have missed something.
This is one of those movies like The Usual Suspects where I’ve never understood the love for it. I admit that I am no fan of Besson, but even Oldman’s great over-the-top performance couldn’t save this one for me. I just remember it feeling very long and very uninteresting. Maybe it was because I was such a John Woo acolyte at the time, and I thought he was the master of these kinds of bloody melodrama’s, and that Besson was just trying to ape what Woo did so much better.
I do remember thinking the milk motif was funny for some reason…