As Leon watches, interested but uninvolved, he sees the daughter Mathilda (Natalie Portman) walking down the hallway, laden with groceries. Creeping under the gaze of a particularly twitchy villain, Mathilda knocks on his door and silently pleads for sanctuary. As a dedicated hit man Leon has no wish to compromise his position yet, after several long seconds, he inwardly relents and grants Mathilda safety from the men who’ve wiped out her family. Thus begins a new phase in Leon’s life, an interruption to his endless routine of training and action. He certainly doesn’t want this change, and neither does Tony, but Mathilda manages to convince him that saving her life makes him responsible for it (so he’d better get used to her). However, when Mathilda discovers that Leon is a “cleaner”, her course of action becomes clear.
Convincing Leon to take her as an apprentice, so that she can go after murderer Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman), proves tricky but eventually Leon allows himself to be worn down. He kind of likes having Mathilda around, even if she does force a few changes of address (he’s deeply paranoid of being noticed, for good reason). Gun cleaning, target practice and assassination theory provide a form of courtship for Leon and Mathilda (although more at the father-daughter level), drawing them closer together. Each has the ability to salve the internal pain of the other, providing elements which their lives were previously lacking. Eventually though, the Stansfield problem forces its way into their happiness. He’s more than just a drug baron regrettably, not that this dissuades Mathilda.
In many ways L on is a slick thriller, comprised of terrific action sequences and minimal plot (enough to stitch the explosions together). The critical difference here is that Luc Besson makes the characters far more important than any shoot-out (excellent though these are), exploring their personalities with a European touch. Separately, Leon and Mathilda are stuck in opposing aspects of a childhood time warp; he is an adult with the emotions of a kid (his inability to read and write reflects this), while she is treated as a little girl despite having grown up prematurely. Hence, they are fellows in spirit and ambition. The stunning performance leeched from Portman anchors L on, as she moves easily from vulnerability to callousness to affection, although Reno is also convincing. The sticking point arises with Oldman who makes his role so over-the-top and violently dangerous that it’s impossible to believe in his position (obviously the whole tale requires suspension of disbelief but, somehow, this aspect is just too much). L on is still strikingly good though, stylish, bloody and a fine meld of American/European precepts.
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