Nov. 19, 2005 - 12:21 pm

L�on (1994)

i searched my diary the other day and couldn't belive that i had never actually done a review of my favorite film. yes, this one, L�on, is my favorite movie. i am often asked that, but no one has ever asked it in relation to my diary. i think i might have it on my profile though. anyway, so it was about time for Jill and i to watch it and actually get a review up and running.

L�on is about a hitman named L�on (Jean Reno) who is basically a loner living in New York City. one day he takes notice of a 12-year-old girl named Mathilda (Natalie Portman) who lives in his apartment building. she's in trouble with her father and her father is in trouble with some corrupt drug-dealing D.E.A. agents. the leader of the officers is Stansfield, played by Gary Oldman. when Stansfield comes and kills Mathilda's whole family, she seeks refuge with the only neighbor she trusts, L�on. when she finds out that L�on is a hitman, she realizes that he might be able to help her get revenge upon Stansfield. Mathilda is very smart and convinces the naive L�on to help her learn to "clean" or be a killer. in working together and trying to protect each other, L�on and Mathilda find a new sort of love and caring about one another that makes each one stronger than they were by themselves.

i remember this movie coming out when i was in my early teens, but didn't see it at the time. when Colin and i were in college, we really started to get interested in the movies of Luc Besson and this was one of them that we went to see at the "campus theater". this was also when i developed my immense crush on Natalie Portman. anyway, I went on to see nearly every film ever made my Luc Besson, as well as every movie that Natalie Portman has starred in.

so what is it about L�on that makes it my favorite? it's everything about it really. the direction, the actors and the way they portray their characters, the characters themselves and their depth, the cinematography, the humor of the movie, the drama of it, the full-bodied story, Eric Serra's wonderful score (definitely his best work), and the general ambiance of the movie. it's just the full picture for me. i will never get tired of watching this movie because basically everything about it is fascinating to me. the film also has one of my favorite scenes of all time. this is when Mathilda is returning from the store and sees that the corrupt police are in her family's apartment and have killed them. she keeps walking straight down the hallway to L�on's door. she begins crying and knocking on L�on's door trying to convince him to let her in so that the police won't kill her. she quietly cries "Please let me in! Please!". just when you think the agent down the hall has realized what is going on, L�on opens his door to her and her face is flooded with the white (almost heavenly) light from L�on's apartment and he lets her in.