This slick film is directed by the talented Luc Besson; who is best known for giving us Milla Jovovich with fluoro orange hair and tight white stripping... But in this film, he has given us a break-through performance by an incredibly talented Natalie Portman.
If you're not familiar with the story, it follows Leon (played by Jean Reno) a "cleaner" (hitman) living a solitary life in New York City. He spends his time looking after his pot plant, watching Gene Kelly films and working out. He receieves his jobs from a man named Tony, who runs an Italian restaurant. One day, he meets Mathilda (Natalie Portman) who lives in the same apartment building. The two instantly strike up a slightly odd connection. Mathilda lives with her trashy family with her father who stores drugs for crooked DEA agents. When they find out that her father is taking a certain percentage of drugs for his own personal use, they execute everyone... except Mathilda who is out buying milk. When she arrives back, he walks straight past her door, seeing her father face down and pumped full of bullets... Realising she has no way of being safe, she rings on the door of Leon. After some hesitation, he lets her in and begins training her how to "clean" (be an assassin).
I always knew this movie was regarded by the geeks as a classic genre film, but I was hesitant in watching it because my expectations were high. Having know watched the Director's Cut, I can say with all certainty that this is one kick-ass film.
It's stylish direction just threw me in and I was blown away by Portman in his role. The whole film relies on her for you to invest in her character... She is sweet and kind, but you can also see deep down inside that she is a broken soul. Jean Reno is also great fun as Leon. He portrays a serious and deadly killer and his methodical nature to his life is perfect for the character of someone who "sleeps with one eye open". Playing the baddie in this film is a Gary Oldman, who gets some golden moments of cheezy acting in this film. The scenes where he takes some pills and does his little shiver are brilliant.
The music choices are all excellent, and used effectively through-out the film... although I was kinda wondering why Sting was used for the closing credits... it did feel a touch out of place. The film was shot mostly in New York and the city looks great and really adds to the chaos and craziness that the characters are living in. As I said at the beginning, the film is slick... The camera angles and cuts are all pretty fine.. there were a few shots in the film that I'd never seen before... and that's always fun to discover. I was lucky enough to see the Director's Cut and knowing the scenes that were left out, I'm glad I did... At a running length of 2 hrs and 12 minutes it zips along...
There were a few moments of predictability and some scenes of sentimentality that I probably could've lived without... But overall this is a great ride and a pretty enjoyable film. Portman is ridiculously good in this role... and it's no wonder she's gone on to do great work in Black Swan. If you wanna see the inspiration for Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass .. then look no further.
Great 90's action!!!
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