Leon - film review

Not only do I have a regrettably mountainous to-be-read pile of books, I'm afraid I've also failed to catch up on plenty of films - not to mention box sets. So I'm making an effort to catch up, and as part of this (perhaps ultimately doomed) project, I recently watched Leon, a film also known as The Professional. It dates from 1994, and you can get an idea of how long I've been meaning to get round to watch it when I tell you that I acquired my copy not as a DVD but as a VHS cassette: eeeek! De-clutteriing is definitely called for...

Anyway, I must say how much I enjoyed the film. The other day I also found an old video of Mission Impossible, starring Tom Cruise, and found it very disappointing - Leon more than made up for it. It's set in the US, but directed by France's :Luc Besson. and it marked the film debut of Natalie Portman. She gives a brilliant performance. A good many child actors, of course, never make it in the long run, but she is a dazzling exception.

Leon, played by Jean Reno, is a naive, poorly educated immigrant who has been exploited by a gangster called Tony, who uses his services as a hitman, but cons him financially. Leon lives in a rather miserable apartment, but he is a very, very efficient hitman. He befriends a 12 year old neighbour called Matilda, whose father is involved in a drugs scam. When her father and the rest of her family are murdered by a sinister group of thugs led by a psychotic played by Gary Oldman, she hides out in Leon's flat.

Soon, the pair become close. I suppose that, twenty-one years later, this relationship between a grown man and a young girl might be presented in a different way, but the screenplay, although violent, does have several poignant moments. Reno is very good - so too is Oldman - but it's Portman who steals the show. A gripping story, and I'm glad I finally caught up with it.

Black Swan

Black Swan is a recent creepy psychological suspense movie, directed by Darren Aronofsky. It has earned huge critical acclaim, and, although I had one or two reservations about it, I can see why. It is visually stunning, the acting is terrific, and the music complements the story superbly.

Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers, a beautiful and driven ballerina with a company based in New York. She lives with her very protective mother (Barbara Hershey) and it soon becomes clear that she is a perfectionist, with “issues”. The company is due to perform a new version of Swan Lake and Nina wants the lead role.

The director of the company (Vincent Cassel) is brilliant but odious, and he dumps his former favourite (Winona Ryder) in favour of Nina. But another dancer called Lily (Mila Kunis) is also after the top job. The relationship between Nina and Lily is a key area of focus of the film.

It’s a chilling movie, but the story structure is relatively simple and rather predictable. It wasn’t difficult to foresee more or less what would happen. But this is perhaps a quibble. The film is compelling to watch, and Portman is very good in an extremely demanding role. Kunis, Cassel and Hershey are also excellent. Among recent films I’ve watched, only The King’s Speech seemed to me to be superior.