1994 hitman movieRating: 17/20 (Dylan: 18/20)
Plot: The titular hitman, an immigrant living in New York City, tries to keep a flower alive in a harsh world. After his 12-year-old neighbor's entire family is murdered by crooked D.E.A. dudes, he reluctantly takes the girl under his hairy wing and teaches her the tricks of his violent trade.
With a rating as high as this, I sort of prove that I really don't know what the hell I'm doing here. I love this movie, but it's stuffed with problems--things that I'd more than likely trash another movie for. Natalie Portman gives a fantastic performance as a young person, proving that it actually can be done. She shows a range of emotions, all realistic, and has the right face to pull off being simultaneously innocent and bad. However, is her character all that realistic? I realize that girls mature faster than guys and that the experiences in her home might cause her to be a little more sexually curious or open to violence than other 12-year-olds, but I don't completely buy the scenes where she's coming on to Leon. Gary Oldman is also brilliant, just one of those bad guy performances that is so good that you really end up wanting to root for him, but he's brilliantly hammy and very nearly crosses a line here. In a bad movie, I'd likely make fun of the performance. But the entire scene where he's directing the trashing of Mathilda's place? Everything that follows "I like these calm little moments before the storm"? Mesmerizing, one of those examples of acting where you just can't wait to see what he's going to do next. You learn a bit from his character, too. 1) Don't ruin Gary Oldman's suit because apparently he doesn't like that. 2) If Gary Oldman tells you to go inside a place, you'd better go inside a place. Oh, and 3) Gary Oldman isn't going to be killed while he's taking a dump. Jean Reno plays the title professional like he's possibly mentally challenged or, at the very least, emotionally underdeveloped, and it's the only thing that makes the parts of this story nearly a love story acceptable. The goofiness with the Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe references in a game of Charades or what has to be the worst ventriloquist act ever clashes so beautifully with the scenes of Leon working. I think, by the way, that a prequel could work where Leon hits the stage with his pig oven mitt to try to start a career in entertainment. One of the most beautiful scenes in this movie is where Portman is standing at Leon's door and begging for him to open it. "Please open the door." You know he will, probably because you've either seen the movie or you've seen a preview of the movie where the characters are walking through the streets with a plant or sharing a carton of milk. But that doesn't make the opening of that door, an act which bathes Mathilda in light for a moment, any less beautiful. Great stuff. I also really respect such a violent movie pulling it all off with a score that includes so many sleigh bells. One more little oddity: the gray guy that sits in the background of Aiello's place and doesn't do anything at all.
I may be asking a lot but could you specify if it's the first time you saw the movie or not. Maybe just in instances when it's not the first time?
ReplyDeleteI've seen this movie so many times but not for years. In fact it's perverted how psyched I was that Natalie Portman was gonna be in Star Wars when I found out. Haven't really liked her since this, except Black Swan.
Not the first time. Dylan's first time though.
ReplyDeletePortman: Closer? I don't even remember if I liked that one. All three of those Star Wars prequels, of course. And Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. That scene where she's dancing on the bubble wrap with Magorium gives me chills.
You also learn from Gary who he wants you to take with you, which is EVERYONE!
ReplyDeleteI really like this movie. I thought it was intersting how the opening scene gives us Leon as this unstoppable killer of men, but as the movie goes on, we see him quiet, silly, wistful, and childlike.
Besson is a dealer in eye candy. But this is movie is driven more on the story than the visuals, not that he completely leaves style out of it.
Question: If this movie came out today, would the non-sexual/sexual vibe cause a stir?
17.75/20
EVERYONE! Dylan dug that.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the way we see the titular character (I can't stop myself) during that initial bad-ass-killin' scene and then later in all the interactions outside of his job. Heck, even some of the interactions he has with Aiello's character.
Not sure how people would see this now. It's French, so they can get away with it, right? I saw this in '95 or '96, I think, and I don't even know what people thought about it when it came out. I would wager that some people would have an issue with the way Mathilda is filmed in some of these scenes.
So, instead of focusing on my Econ class tonight, I was thinking about this movie.
ReplyDeleteLeon lives a life of rules. There are things you do, and things you don't do. The relationship was never sexual on his part. If anything, he was confused by it all.
He's just so frickin pure of heart. He's a dark action bad ass teddy bear.
That's why it's tragic. He's pure of heart.
I even like the Sting song in the closing scene.
Probably way too cliche to discuss Leon as a Christ figure, right?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd agree with you. I don't think he ever thinks about Mathilda inappropriately. That's all on her, and I guess that makes it acceptable. Girls that age are supposed to have adventurous thoughts, right? In a way, this is a coming-of-age story about her even though her name isn't in the title.
Leon's a big kid. Aiello's a father figure (God? See? It's just too easy)...I still have trouble figuring out whether I think Aiello's character is using Leon or taking advantage of him. He almost has to be, right? Surely he's not just keeping all that money.