(1994)
Every once and a while a little piece of perfection comes along, a single dose of immaculate creativity mixed in with some sort of archaic yet neo-realism which only exists in the smile or teardrop or even to sound contradictory, lifeless existence that is presented onscreen (yes, even the positioning of a dead body should be correctly mastered). Luc Besson has evidently provided us with a unique undertaking that is delivered with a no holds barred approach.
Cinematic magic, awesome storytelling and last but not least the most brilliant acting I have ever seen coming from a young Natalie Portman. All three have been gracefully given to the world in this poetic French effort better known internationally outside of Europe as 'The Professional.'
I am aware that alot of people like to criticise this masterpiece for a number of obscene reasons... for example Gary Oldman's "overacting" and disbelief regarding any given circumstances the movie may rely on. I personally believe his performance to be spot on for the character in which he plays; unfortunately I'll choose not to go into it as to not give away a crucial spoiler that presents itself early on in the film.
Now... onto some criticism of my own. Oh wait I have none. The only movie in my opinion next to Terminator 2 to have been made so amazingly well that every department technical or otherwise is complete, absolute and flawless.
As briefly mentioned above, it is a French production however the film is set in New York City. Leon an immigrant from Italy inadvertently becomes the protector and mentor of Mathilda, a naive yet highly intelligent young girl who loses everything in the span of about 10 minutes. He himself is a professional "cleaner" and lone wolf who assassinates targets for money and has no interest in caring for this child when she reaches out to him for help, yet through a short period of time somehow becomes her saviour and greatest hero. Mathilda looks up to Leon, he is the family she never felt she had, he is everything to her and slowly she becomes very close to him also.
'Leon' is essentially greatly inspired thematically by Besson's former masterpiece 'Nikita.' It replaces the young chaotic adult with a child, but offers us the opportunity to witness how far someone is willing to go once they have lost absolutely everything. Mathilda isn't old enough to fully understand the concept of love and yet she wants to learn to kill.
This is the kind of film Hollywood could never conceptually pull off even in their wildest efforts. The screenplay is unmatched; the dialogue and depth within the main characters is outstanding, and the directing beautifully compliments it all. I can honestly say that if 'Leon' were to have been an American production it would definitely have had so much importance and depth removed and/or replaced with less controversial elements. The fact that it was cut for an American audience is proof enough that it could never (as is) have been a successful Hollywood production with results on the same level.
The casting in this film is superb. The movie no doubt will have come out alot differently if it were not for the three key principal actors; the unmatched Jean Reno, the unforgivable Gary Oldman and the everlasting important grace of Natalie Portman. Lastly, Eric Serra's music fits superbly well within context and greatly compliments the displayed emotions throughout as it always does in Besson's films.
Every time you watch this film you will most certainly discover something new. Perfectly clocking in at over 2 hours you will find it impossible to find any better in the genre.
10/10
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