Its nice to see another of my personal favorites score so highly with IMDb reviewers! The professional is about a hit-man Leon (Jean Reno) who befriends young Mathilda (Natalie Portman) after her family is murdered. Mathilda decides she wants revenge and insists Leon teach her how to "clean". A very touching relationship then develops between the two which is at the center of this amazing film. I really love this movie!
I need to comment on the actors here. This is the first time I saw Ms. Portman on film was captivated by her from the first time I saw The Professional (and have been ever since in 'Beautiful girls', V for vendetta,'Black Swan' etc). Mathilda has had a tough life, her father and older sister were both abusive to her and her step-mother didn't seem to care. She hated the school she attended and liked to hang out on the stairway of her apartment building sneaking cigarettes. Portman plays her as vulnerable, distressed yet strong and endearing...and totally believable the whole way.
Then there's Gary Oldman, who in my opinion is absolutely the finest character actor in movies over the last 20 years or so. I've never seen him give a bad performance (he was especially great in the 1990 film "State of Grace"). Oldman here delivers what may be his best performance ever as the sleazy, psychotic DEA agent Stansfield. We watch him chew on his mysterious pills while cracking his neck and listen as he obsesses with Beethoven and think...wow! this is one of the creepiest characters ever put on film. During the climactic scene he tells an assistant to "send me everyone" and the assistant incredulously asks "everyone?" to which Stansfield chillingly screams "EVERYONE!!"...we get the point, the guy is nuts but has power...and cops show up in droves.
I don't mean to underrate Reno's performance here, he is quietly brilliant, the best I've ever seen of him to date. Leon doesn't have a whole lot of dialog as the professional, and thats by design as the character is Italian and we presume he hasn't been in the United States for long and doesn't know a whole lot of English. Reno is perfect in the role, and when he delivers that signature line I quoted above..."this is from Mathilda"...it packs a powerful and emotional punch. It's a truly great payoff scene.
This is not necessarily a movie with a happy ending, but this isn't meant to be a feel-good movie, it's bigger than that. However, it IS very satisfying and a nice symbolic scene at the end on the lawn of Mathilda's new school ties it all up very nicely. If you are choking back tears, you are not alone.
Real nice song by Sting "shape of my heart" over the closing credits caps it off..Enjoy.
I need to comment on the actors here. This is the first time I saw Ms. Portman on film was captivated by her from the first time I saw The Professional (and have been ever since in 'Beautiful girls', V for vendetta,'Black Swan' etc). Mathilda has had a tough life, her father and older sister were both abusive to her and her step-mother didn't seem to care. She hated the school she attended and liked to hang out on the stairway of her apartment building sneaking cigarettes. Portman plays her as vulnerable, distressed yet strong and endearing...and totally believable the whole way.
Then there's Gary Oldman, who in my opinion is absolutely the finest character actor in movies over the last 20 years or so. I've never seen him give a bad performance (he was especially great in the 1990 film "State of Grace"). Oldman here delivers what may be his best performance ever as the sleazy, psychotic DEA agent Stansfield. We watch him chew on his mysterious pills while cracking his neck and listen as he obsesses with Beethoven and think...wow! this is one of the creepiest characters ever put on film. During the climactic scene he tells an assistant to "send me everyone" and the assistant incredulously asks "everyone?" to which Stansfield chillingly screams "EVERYONE!!"...we get the point, the guy is nuts but has power...and cops show up in droves.
I don't mean to underrate Reno's performance here, he is quietly brilliant, the best I've ever seen of him to date. Leon doesn't have a whole lot of dialog as the professional, and thats by design as the character is Italian and we presume he hasn't been in the United States for long and doesn't know a whole lot of English. Reno is perfect in the role, and when he delivers that signature line I quoted above..."this is from Mathilda"...it packs a powerful and emotional punch. It's a truly great payoff scene.
This is not necessarily a movie with a happy ending, but this isn't meant to be a feel-good movie, it's bigger than that. However, it IS very satisfying and a nice symbolic scene at the end on the lawn of Mathilda's new school ties it all up very nicely. If you are choking back tears, you are not alone.
Real nice song by Sting "shape of my heart" over the closing credits caps it off..Enjoy.