By Sabrina Cognata
This movie should be called SEXY UGLY: Things people do not want to admit about human sexuality because Leon (Jean Reno) is not really that good looking of a guy, but by the end of the film you love him, want to bear his children and find him incredibly and unwaveringly desirable. This is the story of Mathilda (Natalie Portman) and the man that lives down the hall from her, Leon. Leon is a hired hit man and a serious mo’fo’.
About fifteen minutes into the movie Mathilda becomes an orphan as psycho cop, Stansfield (Gary Oldman) retaliates against her father by killing her entire family while Mathilda’s out at the store. When Mathilda returns she finds her entire family dead and the cops swarming around looking for her. She walks to Leon’s door, weeping and knocks until he lets her in. Mathilda immediately stumbles upon an arsenal of weapons and realizes that Leon is a cleaner/hit man/murderer.
Mathilda asks Leon to teach her the ways of a cleaner. At first Leon laments, but eventually he agrees to teach Mathilda and take care of her. Slowly, you realize that Leon is not a monster, but a creature of habit. He moves quickly and goes out of his way to take care of Mathilda, teaching her the ways of a hit man so that she may one day avenge the death of her younger brother. In return, Mathilda does what she can to ensure that Leon is taken care of: she cooks, cleans and takes care of the reading and writing—as Leon’s English is poor. Leon’s life becomes more than his potted plant and his profession—Mathilda begins to give him purpose.
Before Leon gets a chance to finish Mathilda’s training or avenge her brother’s death himself, Mathilda takes matters into her own hands and confronts Detective Stansfield and his cohorts. Leon is faced with having to save Mathilda, which he does whole-heartedly as Mathilda has been able to open his heart. This is about the part where you realize 12-year-old Natalie Portman is actually a genius and Jean Reno is absolutely sexy. Leon must sacrifice his own life in order to save Mathilda and take out all of the cops. Mathilda weeps, it’s those Drew Barrymore tears from E.T. and you are like WHOA, THIS LITTLE GIRL WILL BE FAMOUS SOMEDAY, then low and behold Natalie Portman ends up super famous.
Anyways, stupid Stansfield kills Leon, but Leon gets his revenge by blowing the hell out of Stansfield and the lobby of the building and basically anyone in his way. Mathilda is devastated and tells the mob boss Leon worked for, “Uncle” Tony (Danny Aiello) that she wants to work for him also. Uncle Tony flips out and says she cannot but he will however give her an allowance and pay for her to go to boarding school. Since Mathilda has no other options or choices she takes Uncle Tony up on his offer, planting Leon’s fern into the dirt on the grounds of her new school -- OH MAN, SYMBOLISM ANYONE, FINALLY MATHILDA HAS ROOTS AND IT’S ALL BEACUASE OF LEON!