Leon The Professional is 30 years old. My absolute #1 favorite of all time.
Because only one movie sits atop the thousands and thousands of movies that I have seen in my life as the absolute #1.
Leon aka The Professional aka Leon: The Professional. Whichever title you wanna use.
I can't dare go any further without mentioning that this was the debut film for Natalie Portman, which pretty much makes it probably also the most IMPORTANT film of my movie fan existence.
This was not a film that had been on my radar. 1994 was this incredible year for movies, and as I think I have said before, the year when movies became a true obsession for me. And it was probably the first year I was getting into the movie magazines, and kind of following movies from the time they went into production until they came out. And the fall of 1994 had already been formative with the release of Pulp Fiction.
But The Professional was not a film I had among my big anticipated late year releases. I know I had seen the trailer a couple of times, and maybe had seen a magazine blurb or two. But what was it? An action movie without big stars. I obviously HAD seen Natalie in the trailer, though, so I knew about her, even if not by name yet.
It was kind of a lucky break I even saw it in theaters. The film wasn't a big hit, but it was still playing into its third weekend.
December 3rd, 1994. The day my life as a movie fan changed.
The Professional is about a lonely, socially awkward hitman named Leon (Jean Reno) who takes in Mathilda (Portman), a young girl and neighbor whose whole family got shot dead courtesy of Stansfield (Gary Oldman), the dirtiest of dirty cops.
Directed by Luc Besson, who had achieved some notoriety a few years earlier with La Femme Nikita, the film definitely gave me some of those Pulp Fiction vibes when I saw it, with the stylized violence. They really don't have a lot in common, but at the time, it felt like they did.
Upon first viewing, I was mesmerized by Natalie. Now, I am a now 45 year old guy talking about a 30 year old movie starring a then 13 year old actress, so tread carefully. But my teenage self was pretty much in love instantly. Cute girl with short black hair who was swearing and shooting a gun? Yeah, I was hooked instantly. It's an incredible, iconic performance. She's a force of nature, funny, emotional, wise beyond her years yet still vulnerable. I would have no trouble making the case that it's still her finest work.
And obviously the story was great, and the action sequences were really cool. Oldman's crazy over the top villain was immediately an all-timer. The film had more than enough going for it to be one of my favorite films of that year right away. But the story of this film and what it meant to me was just beginning.
As I said, the film was not a major hit. It did do okay business and pretty quickly had a cult following, but even to this day, it's not a film that every casual movie watcher is even that aware of.
So, the film followed the usual post-release pattern that was the norm in the mid-90s. Wait 6 months or so to hit video, then another month or two to hit pay per view. I would often tape movies off PPV so then I could watch them all the time. The Professional was definitely one that I watched a TON.
The whole Natalie thing was still the #1 factor, but she wasn't even who I considered my favorite actress at that point. No, I was a little hesitant because, as fantastic as she was, I didn't know if that would be it. There was no guarantee that she would show up in other things. It's not like today where there are countless shows and movies and more streaming options that anyone could ever get through, so every actor is going to be in SOMETHING.
But rewatching the film definitely made it rise up the ranks for me. And then after Beautiful Girls hit in 96 and Natalie WAS now my #1 and then she got Star Wars, and I knew she was going to be a thing in my life longterm, now that's where The Professional took on this added historic significance. Now, the film stands as easily one of the most iconic debuts by any actor ever.
During all the Natalie hysteria of the late 90s, The Professional just kept rising up the charts. It was even the first DVD I ever bought. And then came the extended cut.
I kind of knew about this other version of the film as far back as at least 98. I was a frequent visitor to the Natalie sites back then, and caught on that there were some scenes that were not in the film I knew. This was the pre-YouTube days, too, so it wasn't like it was all available to see.
But then the longer version that had been released in France was put out on DVD in the summer of 2000.
And here is where the film finally rose to the top.
Leon is the best director's cut of all time. There's over 20 minutes added back in there, all of it great. Most of the cut stuff involves Mathilda going out on jobs with Leon, learning the tricks of the trade. There is a fabulous scene of Mathilda holding a gun to her head. Some of the best material in the whole movie. Love the scene of her shit talking some street kids.
What prompted all the cutting? Well, now we gotta get into the controversy. One of the storylines in the film involves Mathilda falling in love with Leon. Now, this is little girl crush stuff, and in the theatrical cut, it never pushes the envelope. Mathilda isn't "in love" with him, she's just being shown a care that she never was in what we are shown was a very abusive family. Even when she refers to Leon as her lover, she doesn't even know what that means.
In the long cut, there are some moments that push the boundaries. There is a scene where Mathilda tries on a dress Leon bought her, and then she asks him to take her virginity. Look, I can see why this got cut, and could make someone uncomfortable. But it's a major misread to see those as creepy. Leon explains very clearly why this can't happen, by way of recounting the events that brought him to America. It's some of Reno's best acting in the film, and a moving scene.
Fact is, at no point in the film does Leon ever say or do anything that indicates he has any sort of sexual desire towards Mathilda. It's clear even in the theatrical cut that Leon sees her as a daughter figure.
There's also the rather seedy backstory of Besson, and that there was a sex scene in the original script. But in the actual film, this just is not a thing.
Leon and Mathilda is.maybe my favorite pairing in any movie. I adore their interactions, and how their connection grows throughout the film. It's why the climax is so endlessly affecting. Their goodbyes to each other get me every time, and I always keep wanting the ending to be different, for Leon to get away.
So anyway, once I saw the full version of Leon, it was clear that this is the best movie I have ever seen. Doesn't mean it's total perfection. But it's close.
There used to be mild rumors of a sequel, and apparently, there was a real script out there, which ended up getting re-worked into the Zoe Saldana movie Columbiana. While I obviously would have killed to see Natalie play Mathilda again, there is just no way a sequel would have been as good. You need that central relationship.
This is my favorite film and the most important. It is impossible to picture what the last 30 years would have been like had this film not happened, and not introduced Natalie. I mean, this one casting led me to so many things, and movies, and even people I never would have known.
This film will probably stand as my favorite of all time for the rest of my life.
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