leon

A decade ago, Natalie Portman was the Dakota Fanning of child actors. She was an absolute
natural in front of the camera and no one brought this out better than director Luc Besson in his
destined-to-be-a-classic “Leon: The Professional.” But the film doesn’t completely go to Portman.
In the other half of the dramatic ring is the incomparable Jean Reno, whom Besson worked with
previously in both “The Big Blue” and “La Femme Nikita.”

In the film, Reno plays Leon, a “cleaner,” better known as a hitman, who skulks about New York City
killing people for money. He lives a reclusive life in an apartment complex where a young girl
named Matilda lives. Matilda, played by Portman, is the middle of three children in a highly
dysfunctional family. Her father is a drug dealer and her stepmother is nothing to write home about
either. Gary Oldman, in easily his most frightening role, is a corrupt detective on the take who has
Matilda’s entire family murdered because of her father’s meddling with some cocaine.

Matilda just happens to be at the grocery store and avoids being killed. To escape death, she
poses as Leon’s daughter, somewhat forcing her presence upon him. He initially wants to get rid of
her, even thinks of killing her, but they form a bond and soon the hermetic Leon finds he finally has
something to lose.

From there the movie is an always intriguing and sometimes shocking look into the life of a hitman
and the amount of attachment a pre-teen girl could place on the only person in her world. The
charisma between Reno and Portman in the film is a miniature miracle of acting. Matilda is a
frustration, but she is also worth loving and risking, especially for a man who has lived such an
isolated life. The movie is as humorous as it is heart wrenching, with Matilda playing charades with
the nervous and shy Leon and demanding that Leon teach her to become a cleaner.

It is this training aspect of the film, initially cut from the U.S. release, that makes “Leon” disturbingly
mature. Matilda goes on assignments with Leon and learns the art of killing, without actually killing
yet herself. In a powerhouse performance I often think Portman will never top, she metaphorically
twists Leon’s arm by playing Russian Roulette with herself rather than allowing him to throw her out
of his life. Matilda is a little girl forced to grow up quickly and she is already living on a dangerous
edge. At the same time, Leon’s world has changed, and not necessarily for the better, as Oldman
and his corrupt cops hunt for Matilda, a witness to the crime, and the man hiding her.

Besson pulls no punches with this movie and in doing so presents a jaw-dropping drama of two
troubled people trying to survive together under almost impossible odds. Reno’s performance is
harrowing as a man once as innocent as Matilda who lives in a world of denial where he still tries to
lead an innocent life on the inside. Frankly, I don’t know where Oldman gets his energy. Playing a
psychotic cop hooked on speed, his acting is as keyed up as a jazz drum and completely
convincing.

The action in the film is tense, violent and tragic. Leon is a living ghost as a killer and behind his
dour visage is a lethal killing beast. Besson handles every shot and gunshot with the utmost care.
His action scenes are not eye candy, but extensions of his human drama.

“Leon: The Professional” is simply amazing.