Current Events > Leon: The Professional is somewhat creepy

(+) Yeah! (+)

The soundtrack's good, the soundtrack's good

it's very creepy, when you look into the director's past, what he wanted to add to the movie, and what an ex believes of the movie

Before, I thought it was uncomfortable, but with a good reason. Matilda is a tween/early teen girl who's gone through a traumatic event and due to her youth and messed up family life, doesn't know what's appropriate or not in regards to Leon. Leon is uncomfortable with Matilda and doesn't exactly know how to handle her and is rightfully awkward about it, but ultimately rejects her "advances" and sees her more like a daughter.

Then I found out about the director...

Southernfatman posted...

Before, I thought it was uncomfortable, but with a good reason. Matilda is a tween/early teen girl who's gone through a traumatic event and due to her youth and messed up family life, doesn't know what's appropriate or not in regards to Leon. Leon is uncomfortable with Matilda and doesn't exactly know how to handle her, but ultimately rejects her "advances" and sees her more like a daughter.

I liked that plotline in RE4.

Southernfatman posted...

Then I found out about the director and the movie...

Yeah that was some creepy shit

Southernfatman posted...

Before, I thought it was uncomfortable, but with a good reason. Matilda is a tween/early teen girl who's gone through a traumatic event and due to her youth and messed up family life, doesn't know what's appropriate or not in regards to Leon. Leon is uncomfortable with Matilda and doesn't exactly know how to handle her and is rightfully awkward about it, but ultimately rejects her "advances" and sees her more like a daughter.

Then I found out about the director...

What about him?

Southernfatman posted...

Before, I thought it was uncomfortable, but with a good reason. Matilda is a tween/early teen girl who's gone through a traumatic event and due to her youth and messed up family life, doesn't know what's appropriate or not in regards to Leon. Leon is uncomfortable with Matilda and doesn't exactly know how to handle her and is rightfully awkward about it, but ultimately rejects her "advances" and sees her more like a daughter.

They actually do it in the screenplay. It's also presented as her being the one forcing herself onto him, and Leon starts crying during it.

Yeah perving on a 12 year old is totally OK.

But seriously I read an analysis for this movie that was pretty good, a bit dark and almost heartbreaking in how sad it is.

Funny how with time Gary Oldman's character is the more normal one because he wasn't a perv. Or was he I can't really remember the movie just the gist of it

MATHILDA (con't)
I want you to be the first to touch
me... The first to make love with me.
Nobody before you.

She stands up and modestly gets off her briefs without taking
off her dress. Leon cries, unable to oppose her. Mathilda is
too young, but she's also too beautiful and lovely and sweet
and tender... She sweetly, very sweetly, gets on him.

LEON(crying)
Why me, Mathilda, why me?

Mathilda leans over to speak in his ear.

MATHILDA
...Because you deserve it, Leon...

Leon embraces her. He's full of happiness, shame, so many
emotions, he can't control very well. But, hell, how
beautiful it is seeing them sweetly making love.

Yikes. I think back then they just dismissed it as a frenchman being weird, I guess? American Beauty was also praised and that movie was also hella creepy.

Oh its creepy alright, and its not even the creepiest movie of this time period. Early 90s that is.

Yeah, thought it was supposed to be intentionally creepy. Then you look up the director and....

I never liked it.

cousinvini posted...

Yikes. I think back then they just dismissed it as a frenchman being weird, I guess? American Beauty was also praised and that movie was also hella creepy.

They would call it "being European" back then.

I think I hated American beauty way more than I hated Leon but maybe it's because I saw a censored version of the professional so it wasn't as bad.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

WTF?

Mawenn met film director Luc Besson when she was 12 and he was 29, and they began dating when she was 15. In January 1993, at age 16, she gave birth to their daughter Shanna.[6][12] On the DVD extras for the 1994 film Lon: The Professional, Mawenn said the film is based on her relationship with Besson.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%C3%AFwenn

I never took Leon as being a creep or sexually attracted to Matilda... at least not in what was filmed for the movie that we see.

Luc himself though... yeah, he seems like a fucking scumbag. Can't remember La Femme Nikita if that had any questionable shit.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Fucking lol I'm this close to throwing up. Ah the 70s 80s, when Hollywood was running rampant trying to almost borderline diddle kids.

I like how the actress literally backed away slightly poor thing

It's a long time since I've seen it, but I thought Leon acted honourably in the film and rejected her advances?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Holy crap. It shows. It fucking shows.

damn wtf

boxoto posted...

Mawenn met film director Luc Besson when she was 12 and he was 29, and they began dating when she was 15. In January 1993, at age 16, she gave birth to their daughter Shanna.[6][12] On the DVD extras for the 1994 film Lon: The Professional, Mawenn said the film is based on her relationship with Besson.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%C3%AFwenn

Good lord

I wonder if that kinda behavior is normalized in places like France, Italy etc or if director is just a creep all on his own no "cultural differences" to fall back on.

Revisited posted...

Good lord

I wonder if that kinda behavior is normalized in places like France, Italy etc or if director is just a creep all on his own no "cultural differences" to fall back on.

Well he left her for a 21 year old Milla Jovavich while making The Fifth Element and has had some sexual assault accusations thrown his way.... I'm leaning toward him being a fucking creep.

somewhat ? That is an understatement.

Heineken14 posted...

I never took Leon as being a creep or sexually attracted to Matilda... at least not in what was filmed for the movie that we see.

Luc himself though... yeah, he seems like a fucking scumbag. Can't remember La Femme Nikita if that had any questionable shit.

lol La Femme Nikita. The movie they made to spoof American spy thrillers.

That America then adapted into a television series because they liked it so much.

Yeah there are parts of the movie that are pretty creepy and there were more in the extended moviethere was even more overt stuff planned but Jean Reno said no

so if you want to thank someone for not making this creepo heaven thank jean reno.

ai123 posted...

It's a long time since I've seen it, but I thought Leon acted honourably in the film and rejected her advances?

Yeah I think that's how it went but its been a long while since ive seen it. She had a fucked up life and was the one trying to push the romance from my memory. Still creepy of course because she's 12.

divot1338 posted...

lol La Femme Nikita. The movie they made to spoof American spy thrillers.

That America then adapted into a television series because they liked it so much.

The U.S. made a movie too, like only a couple years after the French one, and Luc directed both

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZyRvbdeZHM

This song and the lyrics were meant for Leon, but it ended up as the credits for GoldenEye (same composer)

It does play as an instrumental version in Leon though.

ai123 posted...

It's a long time since I've seen it, but I thought Leon acted honourably in the film and rejected her advances?

It didnt really happen. They didnt have to have the scene in the first place

jfc

it's creepy because a younger girl falls for an older man who saves and protects her? that's literally the premise of the entire thing. he cares about her and wants to save her life, but not in any romantic or sexual way. he also thought he was an emotionless killer before meeting her, so finding someone to care about that wasn't a plant was a major shock to his life.

the creepy part is that everyone here sees "young girl, old man" and immediately goes to bad thoughts. but that's also actually the purpose of the movie, too. it's commentary on how people immediately judge situations.

and lmao at the idea that gary oldman's character is the "best person" in the movie. he's literally a crooked drug addicted cop who has no remorse when killing families and children. the fact that anyone would see him as "better" than Leon is the most laughable thing here.

Like someone took the wrong things away from Taxi Driver and Lolita.

https://youtu.be/Q06wFUi5OM8?si=uEonfpVMCpa0vKUh

let me get this straight.

some of you young folk think that the Professional movie is "creepy" because of a little girl has a crush on a french hitman, but you think its fine for a crooked cop to munch on drugs in an apartment hallway while ordering his men to kill an entire family?

that all you care about in an old action movie is a girl having a silly crush on a hitman?

Is this projecting?

I saw it on Youtube and then immediately got recommended Jeepers Creepers 1, 2, and 3 along with Midnight in Paris. Made me look up Luc Besson and that was how I found out about his personal life.

WizardofHoth posted...

let me get this straight.

some of you young folk think that the Professional movie is "creepy" because of a little girl has a crush on a french hitman, but you think its fine for a crooked cop to munch on drugs in an apartment hallway while ordering his men to kill an entire family?

The very sad fact is that kids from abusive or neglectful backgrounds often do act out like this as they learn it is a way to get positive attention from certain adults.

So in that sense, her actions are in keeping with her character. We find them disturbing because we should find them disturbing.

Ivynn posted...

Yeah, thought it was supposed to be intentionally creepy. Then you look up the director and....

This tbh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SOivZAwt-I

This is a bruh moment

Thank fucking christ Jean Reno did his best with the material to not make Leon also be in love with Mathilda so instead it comes across more as the equivalent of a one sided student crushing on a confused teacher or something as opposed to Leon being an actual romantic interest like Luc Besson had in the original script.

Oh, and speaking of which, fucker should probably be in jail next to Roman Polanski and Bryan Singer.

The movie itself, without looking past the movie itself, has its uncomfortable moments. But its supposed to be uncomfortable.

The first fan letter Natalie Portman ever received at age 13 was a self-insert rape fantasy written by a man in his 40s.

https://www.thewrap.com/natalie-portman-womens-march-rape-fantasy/

GuerrillaSoldier posted...

it's creepy because a younger girl falls for an older man who saves and protects her?

Why, yes. Yes it is.

ai123 posted...

So in that sense, her actions are in keeping with her character. We find them disturbing because we should find them disturbing.

Great take. Matilda is literally saved by Leon, so she places all of her faith and love in him. Leon, having spent his entire adult life a cold, isolated killer (and virgin) is confounded by this. He initially orders Matilda to leave and even contemplates killing her in her sleep (gun to her head and everything) so as not to disrupt the life he has gotten so used to. In the end, he accepts her into his life and cares for her, but in a tender fatherly way. In their goodbye scene, Reno definitely plays it as a father saying goodbye to his daughter. It's uncomfortable yes, but discomfort is bound to arise from such a fucked up situation.

Somewhat?

cousinvini posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZyRvbdeZHM

This song and the lyrics were meant for Leon, but it ended up as the credits for GoldenEye (same composer)

It does play as an instrumental version in Leon though.

Holy shit, this ending theme song makes me want to watch the movie again, every single time I hear it. Thank you for posting this, cause now I need to watch it.

GuerrillaSoldier posted...

it's creepy because a younger girl falls for an older man who saves and protects her? that's literally the premise of the entire thing. he cares about her and wants to save her life, but not in any romantic or sexual way. he also thought he was an emotionless killer before meeting her, so finding someone to care about that wasn't a plant was a major shock to his life.

the creepy part is that everyone here sees "young girl, old man" and immediately goes to bad thoughts. but that's also actually the purpose of the movie, too. it's commentary on how people immediately judge situations.

and lmao at the idea that gary oldman's character is the "best person" in the movie. he's literally a crooked drug addicted cop who has no remorse when killing families and children. the fact that anyone would see him as "better" than Leon is the most laughable thing here.

No the creepy part is how the movie is a projection of the director's life and how he "got" with a 15 yr old when he was 32 or so (I say "got" because they met when she was 12 so who knows when they actually started dating) and then knocked her up almost immediately.

GuerrillaSoldier posted...

it's creepy because a younger girl falls for an older man who saves and protects her? that's literally the premise of the entire thing. he cares about her and wants to save her life, but not in any romantic or sexual way. he also thought he was an emotionless killer before meeting her, so finding someone to care about that wasn't a plant was a major shock to his life.

the creepy part is that everyone here sees "young girl, old man" and immediately goes to bad thoughts. but that's also actually the purpose of the movie, too. it's commentary on how people immediately judge situations.

and lmao at the idea that gary oldman's character is the "best person" in the movie. he's literally a crooked drug addicted cop who has no remorse when killing families and children. the fact that anyone would see him as "better" than Leon is the most laughable thing here.

Everyone?