"I wanna be a cleaner."      

THE PROFESSIONAL (R) 

The Professional is director Luc Besson's first American film (he directed La Femme Nikita), and I'm happy to say that Besson does just as well in English as he does in French.  The story of Leon (Jean Reno), a hitman who "adopts" a twelve year old girl after her family is murdered, is an engaging and absorbing thriller that kept me hooked from beginning to end.  Natalie Portman does an excellent job playing the 12-year old Mathilda, and Gary Oldman is particularly disturbing as the cop-gone-bad who goes after the two protagonists.  

The best part of this movie is not in the action, or the special effects, or the plot.  Instead, it's in the characters themselves.  In the span of 110 minutes, you really start to understand Leon and Mathilda and the bond that keeps them together.  Their actions, their logic, actually begin to make sense. Don't get me wrong, these are some very screwed up people, but once you accept that fact, the violence in the film develops some context.  Is there such a thing as non-gratuitous violence?  I'll let somebody else argue that...

If nothing else, this film has style...check it out sometime.

Responses from cyberspace.  Thanks for the input, folks!

prag@pacific.net.sg gives this movie  stars: "Perhaps the best movie I have seen in a long time. 'Serious', yet this movie is extremely entertaining. Credit must be given to all characters, as they succeed in each of their roles. Jean Reno, quiet yet powerful deserves most credit. Some sort of reality depicted, and the hero carefully introduced." (7/29/98)

metal-scissors@juno.com gives this movie  stars: "Undoubtedly the best film I have ever seen. In the three or four years I have known of this film, no other film I have seen, past or present, has even come near to touching the incredible world created by Luc Besson. His sense as a director is impeccable, and pairing it with Natalie Portman's portrayal of a fiery revenge-driven modern-day Lolita, and Jean Reno's best performance yet as a misunderstood hitman, has created a powerful film that no-one should miss. There is heart-breaking (for even the most jaded)chemistry between Reno and Portman as they discover being truly happy in the oddly redeeming protector/protected relationship which develops (although who is protecting who is one of the underlying themes of the movie). A devastatingly sad ending does nothing to diminish the force of this film. Rent the director's cut at the "Rare and Artsy Videos" store in your town and see the 20-odd minutes that show the complete story, not the homogenized version originally released in the U.S." (6/23/98)

aoa_davinc47@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "Es la mejor pelicula que he visto , la considero no como una pelicula de accion sino como una pelicula reflexiba . Es definitivamente mifavorita , espero que a los demas cineastas se les ocurra hacer peliculas que superen esta ; seria un buen reto . no?" (5/26/98)

Leon@meh1.vmei.acad.bg gives this movie  stars: "This is the BEST film I have ever seen!!!! Jean Reno is Great ! Luc Besson is a genius." (5/24/98)

bigb@bignet.net gives this movie  stars: "Odd, but it was erotic in it's violence and it's eroticism. Do you think the director pushed the sexuality of the twelve year old too far? How about the high-tech weapons and testosterone?" (2/9/98)

mallon40@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "This is the first movie I have ever seen that makes me sympathize, and yes, cry for a hitman. It is a great film and everyone should have to watch it if they want to see what a good father/daughter relationship should be(minus the violence, of course!)." (11/28/97)

Henry@lowedirect.com gives this movie  stars: "Jean Reno can come and do my cleaning anytime." (8/8/97)

milojkov@deakin.edu.au gives this movie  stars: "The film "The Professional" is nothing short of brilliant. And this brilliance, I think stems from the fact that the film is both written and directed by the same person, so the overall vision of the film remains focused and exclusively controlled by one person - with Luc Besson being a remarkable film maker to boot. Furthermore, I do agree with the review on Movie Page describing the film as stylish; the plot is slick, the characters are fascinating (due to the unquestionable talents of Jean Reno and Gary Oldman) and the narrative structure of the film is engrossing. Combined with the cunningly executed cinematography, an equally original story, and accompanied by an excellent cast (Natalie Portman's performance is outstanding!), Luc Besson's "The Professional" puts injects fine art into a film genre that otherwise would be dominated by lucklustre big name performances, unnecessary sex scenes, seemingly pointless violence and tired big budget special effects." (6/9/97)

hops@intercable.net gives this movie  stars: "The Professional is a movie that shows how action can be made without special FX. Is a really good film and you going to spend a pleasent time watching it. Sorry about my english." (12/19/96)