One of the great films of the 90s, Léon ranks as director Luc Besson's finest achievement. Starring Natalie Portman (in her first film role), the film sees her Mathilda taken in by the titular assassin (Jean Reno) when her entire family are killed by a psychopathic cop, Stansfield (Gary Oldman, not so much chewing the scenery as eating it whole). A slick thriller laced with melancholy (as well as some uneasy sexual tension between the twelve-year-old Mathilda and Léon, which really is copy for another article entirely), Léon is a showcase for its director's unique eye for action and set-pieces, Besson filling his frames with a European verve that essentially turns New York City into Paris. The film (titled alternately as Léon: The Professional, or The Professional, depending on where you're from) exists in multiple versions, most notably an extended cut known as Version Intégrale, which contains 25 minutes of extra footage, including further allusions to the aforementioned sexual aspect of Léon and Mathildas' relationship. A true cult classic, Besson prefers to call the original version of Léon the Director's Cut, with Version Intégrale becoming simply The Long Version.
