Vocational training
IMDB mentions that for The Professional (aka Leon),
All of the interiors of Léon's apartment were shot in Paris; all of the shots of the outside corridor were shot six weeks earlier in New York.
I would not have guessed that from watching the movie, although Jean Reno does look perfectly the part of the downtrodden French laborer. (The way he slumps over his ironing board is almost a caricature of the melancholy French peasant, except for how committed he is to his movement.) And his character, Leon, is indeed in his own little world--in a city of one, deliberately foreign among his neighbors. Placing his apartment shots in another country brilliantly underscores his separation, an artistic decision I'm utterly delighted by, although I never knew till tonight that it occurred.
I'm watching The Professional again tonight, my first free Tuesday in a long time. I see that Leon betrays tremendous loneliness when he is showering after the movie's initial hit job, but the rest of the time, he seems so utterly contained in the simplicity and routines of his life. He always buys 2 cartons of milk and drinks nothing else, wipes the leaves of his single houseplant each day (a houseplant, by the way, called an aglaonema, which is supposed to be difficult to kill--perfect for a hitman), does his daily batch of situps, and sleeps sitting up in his living room. His profession limits him in many ways but within limitations resides a certain peace. I'm not a professional killer, but I think I'd like to live like one.
IMDB also notes that
According to Patrice Ledoux, Luc Besson planned Léon as filler. At the time, he had already started working on The Fifth Element (1997), but production was delayed due to Bruce Willis's schedule. Rather than dismiss the production team and lose his creative momentum, Besson wrote Léon. It took him only 30 days to write the script, and the shoot lasted only 90 days. Ironically, Léon is now generally considered to be a far superior film to The Fifth Element.
How delightful! One of my favorite movies just sprang up as filler, without the writer/director really thinking about it. Love it.
As an aside, I'm amazed at how much Matilda's character reminds me of my daughter. Natalie Portman was 11 when she was cast for the role and my daughter has just turned 10. Matilda shares with my daughter a certain pluckiness, a fearlessness and certainty that she can handle anything. Also, they bluff in the same self-assured manner. I can see my daughter playing this role (she wants to be an actress, which horrifies me, but she has seemed remarkably good in the various plays she's been in).
