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Léon
Léon (released as The Professional in the United States) is a 1994 film about a professional assassin who takes in a young girl after her family is killed.
- Directed by Luc Besson. Written by Luc Besson.
- Starring: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, and Natalie Portman.
He moves without sound. Kills without emotion. Disappears without trace.
Stansfield ("Stan")
- "I like these calm little moments before the storm. It reminds me of Beethoven."
- "We said noon. I've got one minute past."
- "I haven't got TIME for this Mickey-Mouse bullshit!"
- "I take no pleasure in taking a life if it's from someone who doesn't care about it."
- "Death is... whimsical, today."
- "My man was killed right here on your turf, and the Chinks say the hit man was kind of the, uh, Italian type. So we figured Tony might know something. Wait, there's more - you're gonna love this. A few hours later, a little twelve-year-old girl came into my office armed to the teeth, with the firm intention of sending me straight to the morgue. And you know who came and got her, in the middle of the afternoon, right there in my building? The very same Italian hit man. I'm dying to meet him!"
- "Hey! Hey-ey-ey-ey-ey! I just said take the guy out, not the whole fucking building!"
- "What-what-what? There's two hundred men and you can't find one man and a girl? Did you find the girl?"
Mathilda
- "I've seen better days."
- "You've been really great with me, Leon. And it's not always like that - you know?"
- "If you don't help me I'll die tonight. I can feel it. And I don't wanna die tonight."
- "I'm putting in the name of a girl in my class who makes me sick. If things get hot, she'll take the heat."
- "Can we try with real bullets now?"
- "I know where to find the guys who killed my brother. Their boss is Norman Stansfield, and he's in the D.E.A. building, room 4602. I'm gonna do them myself. If something goes wrong, I left you twenty grand on the table. It's for a contract - five grand a head, right? I know I'll feel better after I do this." (voice-over, from note)
- "I think we're gonna be okay here, Leon."
Léon
- "You shouldn't talk about pigs that way. They're usually much nicer than people."
- "No women, no kids. That's the rules."
- "The rifle is the first thing you learn, because it lets you keep your distance from the client. The closer you get to being a pro, the closer you can get to the client. The knife, for example, is the last thing you learn."
- "Keep calm. Don't take your eyes off him. Breathe easy. Watch his movement. Pretend you're running with him - try to feel his next movement. Take a deep breath... hold it... now.
- "I'm late for work. I hate being late for work."
- "Leave it to me. We're checking out."
- "See you at Tony's. I'm gonna clean them all. Tony's in an hour."
- "This is... from... Mathilda."
Others
- "Someone's coming up. Someone serious." ~ "Mr. Jones"
- "Willy-Blood, look what you did! You killed a four-year-old kid! Did you really have to do that?" ~ Malky
- "I should hold the money for you till you're older. Like a bank, you know, except it's better than a bank, 'cause banks always get knocked off. No one knocks off old Tony. But it's, it's your money." ~ Tony
- "I think it was something personal." ~ Willy-Blood
- "Maybe she was gonna take out the whole building." ~ unamed D.E.A. agent
Dialogue
- Tony: Now, you know Marizio's a reasonable guy. He just wants a little conversation. But this guy, he don't wanna hear about it. Maybe he'll listen to you. He comes to town every Tuesday. Are you free Tuesday?
- Léon: Yeah, I'm free Tuesday.
- "Mr. Jones" (answering walkie-talkie): Yeah, what?
- Tonto: This is Tonto, downstairs. There's a guy wants to talk to you.
- "Jones": What's he look like?
- Tonto (looking at gun barrel inches from his face): Serious.
- Léon: Why did you hide the cigarette?
- Mathilda: This building is full of rats. I didn't want my old man to find out. Got enough problems.
- (Léon notice the bruise on her face.)
- Léon: What happened?
- Mathilda: I fell off my bike.
- Lando (Mathilda's father): I don't know what happened. What's my job? I'm a holder. I don't look at it, I don't touch it - I don't even know how to cut it.
- Malky: Try to follow me, all right? In June, we give you the dope. It tests a hundred percent pure. Now it's July, we pick up the dope, and it tests ninety percent pure. Now somewhere between June and July, ten percent turned to cut!
- Lando: I don't know - it's none of my business. You give me the stuff, I hold the stuff. That's all I know.
- Malky: Look - you know, I'm trying to help you out here. But, you know, if you're gonna be a hard-ass about it, I gotta disturb him. (he points at Stansfield) Let me tell you, when he's into his music, he hates being disturbed.
- Lando: I'm telling you the truth!
- Malky: I hope so, because he's got a talent for sniffin' out a lie. It's scary. It's almost like a sixth sense. Are you gonna change your tune, or I gotta bust into his?
- Lando: I'm telling you the truth.
- Malky: (sighs) All right. (to Stansfield) Stan, uh... sorry. He says he didn't cut the dope.
- Stansfield: Oh. (he approaches Lando and sniffs the air around him for several minutes) Of course he didn't. Just do me a favor. Find out who did by tomorrow - noon.
- Mathilda (on telephone): Hello?
- Caller: This is Margueritte McAllister, headmistress of the Spencer School for Girls in Wildwood, New Jersey. Is Mr. or Mrs. Lando home?
- Mathilda (faking deeper voice): Yes, this is she.
- Caller: Mrs. Lando, when your husband enrolled Mathilda at Spencer, he told us she had "problems". Well, as you know, we pride ourselves on turning troubled girls into healthy, productive young women. But if they are not here, there is very little we can do. Now, Mathilda left school without permission nearly two weeks ago. I know your husband paid tuition in advance for a year, but if you will refer to page twenty ofthe rules and regulations manual we sent you, you will see you will see that unless there is a valid excuse for prolonged absence, your tuition will be forfeit.
- Mathilda: She's dead. (She hangs up.)
- Mathilda: Is life always this hard, or is it just when you're a kid?
- Léon: Always like this.
- Malky: Stan, hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? He's dead!
- Stansfield: But he ruined my suit!
- Malky: Yeah, I know - but he's dead! He's a piece of meat. Forget about it. Calm down.
- Stansfield: I'm calm.
- Malky: There are cops outside. We better go.
- Stansfield, to Willy Blood: It's the cops outside. We better go. You stay here.
- Willy Blood: What do you want me to tell them?
- Stansfield: Tell them... we were doing our job.
- Léon: I'm sorry about your father.
- Mathilda: If somebody didn't do it, one day or another I would've probably done it myself.
- Léon: Your mother, she --
- Mathilda: She's not my mother! And my sister - she wanted to lose some weight anyway. Bet she never looked better. She's not even my real sister - just a half-sister, and not a good half at that.
- Léon: If you couldn't stand them, why are you crying?
- Mathilda: Because they killed my brother! What the hell did he do? Four years old... he never used to cry. He just used to sit next to me and cuddle. I was more of a mother to him than that goddamn pig ever was!
- Mathilda: Leon, what exactly do you do for a living?
- Léon: Cleaner.
- Mathilda: You mean you're a hit man?
- Léon [reluctantly]: Yeah.
- Mathilda: Cool.
- Mathilda: Do you "clean" anyone?
- Léon: No women, no kids. That's the rules.
- Mathilda: How much would it cost to hire someone to get those dirtbags who killed my brother?
- Léon: Five grand a head.
- Mathilda: Wow. How about this: I work for you, and in exchange, you teach me how to clean. Hmmm? What do you think? I'll clean your place, I'll do the shopping, I'll even wash your clothes. Is it a deal?
- Mathilda: What do you want me to do? I've got no place to go.
- Léon: You've had a rough day today. Go to sleep now. We'll see in the morning.
- Léon: You sleep well? (Mathilda nods.) Good. After breakfast you gotta take off.
- Mathilda: Where to?
- Léon: Not my problem.
- Mathilda (setting note in front of Léon): Read it.
- Léon: Uh -- (stares blankly at note.)
- Mathilda: You don't know how to read.
- Léon: I'm learning - but I've had a lot of work lately, so... I'm a little behind. What's it say?
- Mathilda: I've decided what I want to do with my life. I wanna be a cleaner.
- Léon: You wanna be a cleaner? [sets a pistol on table] Here, take it. It's a goodbye gift. Go clean - but not with me! I work alone, understand? Alone!
- Mathilda: Bonnie and Clyde didn't work alone! Thelma and Louise didn't work alone! And they were the best.
- Léon: Mathilda - don't you ever do that again or I'll break your head. You got that?
- Mathilda: Okay.
- Léon: I don't work like that. It's not professional. There is rules.
- Mathilda: Okay.
- Léon: And stop saying "okay" all the time, okay?
- Mathilda: Okay.
- Léon: Good.
- (As Léon and Mathilda enter hotel lobby, the desk clerk looks disapprovingly at the violin case they're carrying)
- Hotel Clerk: You expect to use that in this hotel?
- Mathilda: Mister - I have to use it... because I have an audition at Juilliard next month, and I have to practice.
- Clerk: Okay, okay, okay - but not after ten.
- Mathilda: Okay, I promise.
- Clerk: All right. I'll put you at the end of the hall so you don't disturb anyone. (He sets some forms in front of Léon.) Fill those out, please.
- Mathilda: Oh, um... Daddy, can I please fill them out? You know how I like to check into hotels. (Léon nods.) Thanks, Pop! (to Clerk) I'll bring these back in a minute.
- Clerk: Uh - fourth floor.
- Mathilda (running up stairway): Thanks, mister!
- Clerk (to Léon): You're lucky to have a little girl who's interested in things. I got a kid, seventeen, does nothing all day long.
- Mathilda: Leon, I want you to teach me how to be like you. I want to be strong and smart like you.
- Léon: Mathilda --
- Mathilda: I know I'm not strong enough yet, but I could learn the basics - the theory. What do you think? Just the theory.
- Tony: You know, when you told me to get this baby out for you, I thought my hearing was going. I says to myself, "Léon's a pro. Nobody uses that except beginners."
- Léon: I like to stay in shape.
- Tony: Sure - always stay on top of it. It's like me. I always gotta know where everything is all the time. That's why I never leave this place except to go from here to there. Change ain't good, Léon - you know?
- Léon: Yeah.
- Tony: Check it. Make sure it's the right thing.
- Léon: I trust you.
- Tony: The one thing's got nothin' to do with the other. Remember that, Léon.
- Léon: I will.
- Mathilda: You love your plant, don't you?
- Léon: It's my best friend. Always happy, no questions. It's like me, you see? No roots.
- Mathilda: If you really love it you should plant it in the middle of a park so it can have roots.
- Léon: Yeah.
- Léon: Tony, all the money I make that you keep for me --
- Tony: You need some money?
- Léon: Just curious. 'Cause I've been working for a long time and I haven't done anything with my money.
- Tony: You met a woman.
- Léon: No.
- Tony: Léon... Léon, you gotta be careful with women. Remember when you first arrived in this country? When I took you in you were still wet behind the fuckin' ears, and already you were in deep shit because of a woman. Don't forget that, Léon.
- Léon: I wish I could sometimes. You know, about my money - maybe I could give a little to someone, you know, to help out.
- Tony: Hey - it's your money. I mean, I'm just holding it for you, like a bank. Except better than a bank, 'cause you know banks always get knocked off. No one knocks off old Tony.
- Léon: Listen, Mathilda, you'd better be careful. You can't just speak to any guy off the street.
- Mathilda: Léon, get a grip. What's the big fucking deal? I was just smoking a butt while I was waiting.
- Léon: I want you to stop cursing. You can't talk to people like that all the time! I want you to make an effort to talk nice.
- Mathilda: Okay.
- Léon: And I want you to stop smoking. It will kill you.
- Mathilda: Okay. (she throws cigarette away.)
- Léon: Stay away from him - he looks like a weirdo.
- Mathilda: Okay.
- Léon: I'll be out in five minutes. Stand where I can see you.
- Mathilda: Okay.
- Mathilda: Léon, I think I'm kinda falling in love with you. It's the first time for me, you know?
- Léon: How do you know it's love if you've never been in love before?
- Mathilda: 'Cause I feel it.
- Léon: Where?
- Mathilda: In my stomach. It's all warm. I always used to have a knot there, and now it's gone.
- Léon: Mathilda, I'm glad you... don't have a stomach ache anymore. I don't think it means anything.
- Mathilda: Follow the blue car.
- Cab Driver: And I suppose you want me to blast the music and go through the lights, eh?
- Mathilda: No. Drive slowly, take the hundred bucks, and shut the fuck up, okay?
- Léon: I was thinking. If something happens to me someday --
- Tony: Hey, Léon, nothing's gonna happen to you. You're indestructible! Bullets slide off you, you play with 'em.
- Léon: Tony, I... I thought about my money. You remember the, the girl who came here the other day?
- Tony: Yeah.
- Léon: Her name is Mathilda. If anything happens to me I'd, I'd like you... to give her my money.
- Tony: You can count on me, Léon.
- (Pretending she's delivering food, Mathilda has entered the D.E.A. building and followed Stansfield into a restroom.)
- Stansfield: Special delivery, huh? Let me guess. Chinese? Thai, maybe? I've got it - Italian food. What's your name, angel?
- Mathilda: Mathilda.
- Stansfield: Mathilda, I want you to set the sack on the floor. Good. (He draws a pistol.) And now, I want you to tell me everything you know about Italian food - and don't forget the name of the chef who fixed it for me.
- Mathilda: Nobody sent me. I do business for myself.
- Stansfield: So, th-th-this, this is something personal, is it? What filthy piece of shit... did I do now?
- Mathilda: You killed my brother.
- Stansfield: I'm sorry. (he moves in close to Mathilda.) And - you wanna join him?
- Mathilda: No.
- Stansfield: It's always the same thing. It's when you start to become really afraid of death that you learn to appreciate life. Do you like life, sweetheart?
- Mathilda (whispering): Yes.
- Stansfield: That's good - because I take no pleasure in taking a life if it's from a person who doesn't care about it.
- Cab Driver: Is that what you call "I won't be long"? I been waiting around here at least ten minutes!
- Léon: I did my best.
- (Léon, asleep, suddenly wakes and jerks upright.)
- Mathilda: Relax - everything's fine. Sleep well?
- Léon: I never really sleep. Got one eye open always.
- Mathilda: Yeah, I forgot. You know, I never saw someone with one eye open snore so much.
- Léon: I snore?
- Mathilda: Like a baby.
- SWAT Leader: Alpha team - final position. We're ready to go.
- Stansfield: Be careful.
- SWAT Leader: Alpha team - man down, man down!
- Stansfield: I told you.
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- (Mathilda is back at a girls' boarding school.)
- Mathilda: My parents... d-died in a car accident about four weeks ago. It was terrible.
- Headmistress: You know, we didn't have the time to get to know one another when you first came here. But I want you to know that I'm not the kind of woman that would let down a child - no matter what her situation, no matter what her mistake. So I'm going to help you and do my best to welcome you here again. But on one condition: you have to stop lying to me, Mathilda. I want you to take a chance, and trust me, and tell me what happened to you.
- Mathilda: Okay. My family got shot down by D.E.A. officers because of a drug problem. I left with the greatest guy on earth. He was a hit man - the best in town. But he died this morning... and if you don't help me, I'll be dead by tonight.
Cast
- Jean Reno - Léon
- Gary Oldman - Norman Stansfield
- Natalie Portman - Mathilda
- Danny Aiello - Tony
External links
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