Details
Movie Description
Leon (Jean Reno) is a precise, calculating hit man--a consummate professional, with no family and no friends. However, he has casually befriended Mathilda (Natalie Portman, in an auspicious debut), a 12 year-old neighbor whose entire family, including her adored 4-year-old brother, is wiped out by some crooked DEA agents. The girl pleads with Leon to teach her how to be a "cleaner" and avenge her little brother's death. However, once she learns a few skills, Mathilda saunters into the DEA offices with the sole intention of killing the psychotic agent (Gary Oldman) who actually masterminded the executions. But her intended victim turns the tables on her, and Leon must rescue her. LEON was French director Luc Besson's first film shot in America.
Industry Reviews
"...Flying high on explosive action and sly wit, THE PROFESSIONAL gets the job done..."
Rolling Stone - p.106 - Peter Travers
"...Existential..." -- Rating: A - Recommended
Entertainment Weekly - p.63 - Entertainment Weekly Staff
"...It is a well-directed film, because Besson has a natural gift for plunging into drama with a charged-up visual style. And it is well acted..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (11/18/1994)
"The action scenes are explosive and skillful, the story genuinely moving."
Uncut - Uncut Staff (08/01/2000)
Quotations
"I like these calm little moments before the storm. It reminds one of Beethoven." -- Stansfield (Gary Oldman) before he kills a family in a DEA raid.
"Is life always this hard, or is it just when you're a kid?"--Mathilda (Natalie Portman)
"Always like this."--Léon (Jean Reno)
"No women, no kids. That's the rules."--Léon, instructing Mathilda on how to "clean"
|
)
)
)
All rights reserved.
