Léon / The Professional ~ Best movie I've seen in months

[Mozgus]

Wow guys. I had been putting this one off for years. I knew it had Gary Oldman and all, but the more I heard the 4chan pedos talk about Natalie Portman's 11 year old chest in a tank top, the less interest I had in it. 30 minutes in though, and you realize that what you have here is a movie that depicts a very sensitive theme in a completely appropriate light.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110413/

For those who don't know, Jean Reno is a somewhat dimwitted, emotionally numb hitman that takes in and hides the 11 year old abused Mathilda (Portman), as her family is killed over a bad dope situation. The action is intense and all, but the chemistry with these two is really beautiful. Given the shit this girl went through, it's understandable how imbalanced her maturity is. One minute she's hugging a bear and watching transformers, and the next she's wanting to have sex with Leon, out of some confused interpretation of his kind actions. Leon is obviously maintaining a fatherly image instead, which is why I can't understand why anyone would think this movie promotes pedophilia. Not only does he constantly correct her advances, but he's also basically the only person keeping this girl from getting raped, given her attire and over-flated sense of capability.

For all her flaws, you remain so damn sympathetic to her. God damn she was convincing. I have no idea how she not only acted so flawlessly at that age, but also dealt with such dark themes.

I'm not going to spoil much, because this movie seemed extremely well written. It follows it's own rules until the very end. It's unpredictable while being rewarding and understandable.

In the end, this was the first and best role Portman ever had, and the best that Gary Oldman ever had (that I've seen anyway). I'm not going to say much about his character besides being fucking insane and terrifying.

Plus, I guess if this were some kind of pedophile detector, I passed with flying colors. So there's always that reassuring thought.

Edit 1: The trailers dont do this movie justice. Dont watch them.

Edit 2: Duct made me remember there is an uncut version of the movie that is 25 minutes longer. That's what I watched. Most of that 25 minutes is what I was refering to above. Apparently when it was released in USA, test audiences couldnt handle the relationship between the two, so a lot of those scenes were removed, and this was made out to just be an action movie. Just a warning to those who saw the old version, and cant understand what I'm talking about.

[Ack]

Kinda surprised you'd never seen it before. It is a really great film, so many little moments where the lighting was used so well. Honestly I think what's really interesting is contrasting Jean Reno's character as a father figure with the way he does his work. Plus, that ending. Man, it's good.

[lordofduct]

Oh hell, on my list of best fucking films ever produced!

[Unleaded Logic]

One of my favorite films! Great movie!

[andythebadass]

I'm glad you got to see it finally!

Ive seen the movie at least a dozen times because it doesn't get old. It's a very moving picture. The acting, the direction, and music are all top notch. And best of all, the movie has never been remade or messed with by getting a sequel or spin off. Its a really special movie that deserves to not only be watched, but to be remembered.

[vlame]

overrated.

[CantStrafeRight]

The first time I saw this film I almost cried

Its probably one of my favourite films of all time.

[Niode]

Absolutely cocking awesome film. Definitely my favourite of all time.

[lordofduct]

because of this thread (and Moz personally messaging me) I watched this movie yet again. The last time I saw this was years ago when I actually owned it... ON VHS... and subsequently lost it over the years (come on, almost 15 years now since release).

Man still as good as the first time I saw it.

Yet another one of those movies with Gary Oldman that I forget he's in it. To me that is a sign of great acting, an impressionable and memorable character that sticks with you, but the actor themself doesn't. Go Gary Oldman!

[Niode]

Gary Oldman is awesome. I'm sure it's no coincidence that most of my favourite films have him in it. He's so great at bad guys.