Léon: The Professional (1994)
The unlikeliest pair is the most iconic.
Presentation:
One of the most interesting relationship dynamics of an assassin taking custody of a young girl. You have the talented and incredibly precocious performance from Natalie Portman, truly a marvel on screen masterfully navigating the naivety, innocence and awareness necessary for mature audiences. It daringly dances on the line of perversion, in as much as of artistic way as Lolita. Jean Reano is also incredibly lovable with a peculiar performance for Gary Oldman, which to be honest I wasn’t complete convinced by despite his unquestionable talent. The film looks amazing with truly impressive cinematography that is better than many films today. Although you’ll watch the film for the plot, the characters and performances should carry you away.
Conclusion:
Child actors are so magnetic when they are able to command the screen. You don’t see this often even in modern films with actors unable to attain this maturity in the digital social media age. Portman gives the finest performance of a generation and it’s no wonder she would go on to even influence the hairstyles of Pulp Fiction. This isn’t really Leon: The Professional, it’s the Portman show. The film starts strong but ends up in formulaic movie flick territory at the end, but it’s nothing that stops you from wanting more.
Recommendations
When atmosphere is the horror.