Luc Besson Reacts to Natalie Portman's Retrospective of Leon: The Professional - ScreenRant

[@jaybee9269]

1994 was hardly “in the wake of the me-too movement.”

[@I.am_Groot]

I saw Leon first run when it was known just as The Professional and afterwards tried to have a discussion with friends about the Lolita portion of the story and they shut me down. Now the Euro version did explore the potential of a love story on a deeper level but I can assure you most views in the 90's did not take it as some kind of way to feature Natalie Portman as an object of affection. Even today I can watch the film as an expression of an honorable response to a kid having a crush on an adult that was there for them in a crisis. Kids still get unrealistic crushed I am told yes?

[@abrahamlupis9354]

MeToo is just a distraction

[@SAMTYLER1974]

I remember watching Leon when it was first released in cinemas and absolutely adoring it. It’s arguably one of Besson’s finest films and even better in the extended cut. Reno is iconic in the titular role, Portman superb in her film debut and Oldman typically electrifying as Stansfeld. As for stating it was “in the wake of the Me Too movement” the film was released in 1994, a good decade before the term was first used on social media and, respectively, with the trademark hashtag in 2017. Big bada boom, indeed!

[@stevenw4334]

there was no mee too before last few yrs lol

[@xpez9694]

@@stevenw4334 mee too as backfired into women not finding dates and husbands. And it seems some women use these controversies as power tactics to remove their adversaries in corporate America. "he makes me feel uncomfortable" - what did he do? did he say something obscene? no, did he touch you in some way? no. he turned his head and looked my way!!!... Can you believe that!!! I cant believe the audacity!!!

[@tyrongkojy]

Lelu did NOT have the mind and emotional intelligence of a child! What the hell. She knew little, at first, yes, but no education is FAR different from having the mind of a child, and not knowing the language. She starts FULLY fluent in her alien language, fully capable of expressing herself through that. This is like saying an immigrant fresh off the boat has the mind of a child because they struggle with the language.

[@seanmurray4966]

Dude I turned the damn video of and came to the comments as soon as he said that...

[@luciusvorenus9445]

Leelo was hundreds if not thousands years older than Corbin Dallas. Do better Screen Rant.

[@tyrongkojy]

She had a joy for life, which fit with the whole "saving all life in the universe" thing.@michaelpalmer2143

[@tyrongkojy]

After Ryan George left, there's little reason to click on most of their poorly researched vids.@@luciusvorenus9445

[@mcgreeniepants]

Maybe they got it confused with the plot of Poor Things

[@fingerguns2484]

What... what i got from the movie was that her character was attracted to Leon yes, but he never looked or acted in that way towards her. He saw her like a daughter in the end. I mean... Yeah. Its definitely cringe and uncomfortable when her character acts that way but Leon is also uncomfortable.... I dunno. LOL... And here I was hoping some years down the line we'd get a sequel with Natalie Portman.

[@VenomBroly]

The characters fucked in the movie

[@stanamilanovich3956]

Yeah. Leon was very pure. She was depicted as pretty confused and desperate for any affection/companionship. They were both very sad characters, actually.

[@fingerguns2484]

@@stanamilanovich3956 good point. I didn't want to call him simple. Confused fits more.

[@fingerguns2484]

@@VenomBroly at what part? The only difference, as was pointed out in this video, is that her character says to him that she wants him to be her first. He never tries, remarks or insinuates anything towards her.

[@fingerguns2484]

But let's not forget. It's a French director. And the French make films like Salo`. You want a movie to cry inappropriate with young ppl.... Then that's probably top 3. But point is French made and French thought is different.

[@hessu275]

Mathilda as a character never had anyone who cared about her until she met Leon. She was a pre teen so it was understandable that she felt she was in love with him. But Leon never did anything towards Mathilda because he didn't love her the same way. It was a story about two lonely people finding a connection

[@I.am_Groot]

Solid points. I would argue that if 1000 men found themselves with an abandoned young girl nobody was looking for asking to sit in their lap and get some daddy time about 750 of them would do it and not look back. Maybe that number is off but either way Leon did the right thing. I have done the right thing. It is possible to be a gentlemen while a young girl is offering herself and that is the movie I watched.

[@giacomotognoni9865]

What a limited girl. Leon was such a beautiful, heart-wrenching tale...a tale of fatherly love and nothing else. It's sad that people jump on bandwagons and look for dirt when there is none...

[@neonbarnowl]

The director met a girl when she was 12, married her at 15 and impregnated her at 16 and went on the say that "relationship" inspired Leon... It doesn't get any clearer

[@I.am_Groot]

@@neonbarnowl Many of us old enough to have some grey in our beard has a grandma who wed an older an when they were 15 or 16 those were different times. The story is what you make of it and I see it as a childhood crush very natural responded to the way a gentleman should. Easy to love this movie

[@neonbarnowl]

@I.am_Groot This happened in the 90s this isn't some ancient thing or culturally relevant that your great grandpa married minors.

[@lanatsif]

You're limited in your empathy as well, this role made Portman the target of public sexualization by the media at only 14 or whatever age she was at the time, you can't expect her to hold a dear memory of that period of her life, regardless of the movie quality or intention

[@I.am_Groot]

@@neonbarnowl The movie came out 30 years ago. If you are mad at it do you. I prefer to judge the film for what it is not what it might have meant to someone else.

[@benjamindeharo314]

It’s always interesting how Americans always parrots the same “discomfort” with Natalie Portman’s character’s behavior in this film while nevertheless mentioning the incredible amount of violence in this film, including a child being taught to “clean.”

[@gurukutungumokotochongo8057]

Don't forget its forced censorship by Columbia Pictures after the US screen test.

[@SinSefia]

So we're just supposed to ignore the fact that Leon resisted all of Mathilda's advancements? All these years, I _literally_ assumed that was the very lesson of the film, that it was telling us what to do in these real life situations only for it to get complaints as if it were the other way around and he played into it or he were the one courting her. I do not understand this society.

[@DeathCrunch]

Totally. The whole point was they were opposites. She was an innocent child forced to develop mentally way past her physical year due to trauma. He was a old killer with the education of a child, unable to read or write beyond the capability of a child, but still had a strong moral compass.

[@Edser9]

The original script was a full on sex scene until everyone but Luc stepped in and put a stop to it.

[@js1817]

Advances, not advancements.

[@SinSefia]

@@Edser9 Oh, guess that would explain why he gave such a defenseless response to her criticism. Well then, he unintentionally made the best PSA to that -- u say while actually just trying to fap. @deathcrunch9020 It is a perfect contrast, Luc did a good job despite his intentions.

[@SinSefia]

@@js1817 I thought about editing the comment before anyone said anything about e.g. _that_ but figured it's not worth risking youtube spam filtering my comment for using their site's own features.

[@kyleholder3785]

Beautiful Girls was WAY more icky and using Fifth Element as an example is a big stretch. Time to turn off ChatGPT for these videos, it's getting embarrassing.

[@luminousdragon]

Fifth Element is THE example to use for "Born Sexy Yesterday", and yeah this videos wording is poor, it makes complete sense to bring it up, because both movies have to deal with a man in a much more powerful position over a very innocent girl. "Besson's second wife was actress and director Maïwenn Le Besco, whom he started dating when he was 32 and she was 15. " "“Léon, the Professional” director Besson was accused in 2018 of repeatedly raping Dutch-Belgian actress Sand Van Roy over the course of two years, as well as multiple other women. The case against Besson was dismissed in 2021 after an investigation." Since 2018, Besson has been accused of sexual assault by nine different women, including Van Roy, who is the only one to have filed charges. If there were only the accusations, i wouldnt mention them. people can be falsely accused. But then there is age difference marrying a child, and then making multiple movies where a child/absurdly innocent woman are paired up with a grown man.

[@VarudoTakumbo]

​@@luminousdragon another murican crying

[@abdoobaset6100]

The Crush thing happens in real life and I love the way they handle it it was very classy

[@I.am_Groot]

Natalie Portman should probably have some feels about The Professional but it remains one of the great performances by a child actor I have ever seen. Leon does the right thing and its a crush coming from someone being the only male adult that has stood strong for her so whatever your feels are here those crushes happen every day. Either love or hate Leon the film but the message it sends it quite proper. Be present for the child in need. Do not let their advances sway your desire to keep the relationship platonic. Leon gave his life to protect her innocence. Let that sink in before you go hating on this film

[@janicky1891]

Well said 👏🏻

[@johnklaus9111]

my perspective on this movie hasn't budged since I first saw it. An absolute gem. Original, gritty, real, amazing. The acting, including a young ms portman, was superb. The two films that made natalie were this one and Beautiful Girls, where she played a similar, albeit from a different angle, role. Perhaps ms portman would like to regale us of her quality acting in... what was that trash... star wars? ahem. Girls who live in glass festooned houses, shouldn't mock stones. yes? 😊

[@benjamindeharo314]

It's not the most ridiculous thing she has said about how movies shouldn't send a wrong message, far from it.

[@VarudoTakumbo]

​@@benjamindeharo314she has said worse, that right. When being asked she said she would like to play the role of Mathilda again. Months later, she said the movie was "cringey". This woman is just plain idiotic

[@thomasmurphy2786]

Lets not go overboard, she had an infatuation with Leon , while he loved and cared for Mathilda he never did anything cringy, we aren't talking about Keith Carradine and Brook Shields in Pretty Baby here.

[@badmoodana6532]

Mathilde's father was a drug dealing piece of crap who didn't know how to parent, so of course she looked at Leon with what she thought was amorous feelings mistaken for wanting the love of a father. Given her family situation, she wasn't a typical 12 year old and since she was also smart, she probably considered herself closer to an adult. I'm glad they removed the scene where she asked Leon to take her virginity in the US, because I do think that was going too far. Regardless, I love that movie and have watched it dozens of times

[@javier77th]

It was obvious in the movie, it was her that had amorous feelings towards Leon, but never saw any scene where he lusted after her. Secondly, Luc Besson is the one who made her famous.

[@craigwapples4200]

In the fifth element she doesn’t have a mind of a child she has a mind if a person who was sleeping for thousands of years smh again screen rant gets it wrong

[@knives6683]

It's called presentism and all the college kids don't quite understand why it's important not to judge the past with present viewpoints in an ever changing world.

[@RandomStuff-he7lu]

Do you judge the Nazis?

[@abrahamlupis9354]

I agree, for example revising and canceling books for a better world is ridiculous

[@Montie-Adkins]

LeeLoo did not have the mind of a child. Her structure carried genetic memory. She is in fact quite ancient. It was a ridiculous stretch to connect the two movies.

[@luminousdragon]

LeeLoo is the perfect example of the "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope. For Leon, the script had a sexual scene the director kept secret from Natalie Portman and her parents, knowing they would object, so they were caught off gaurd and did do a rehearsal of it, but luckily they refused to let her do it say she would be pulled off the movie if necessary. The director also married a 15 year old when he was 32. He then left that woman for the actress who plays LeeLoo. Hes been accused of rape by 5-9 women. You can call what you want ridiculous or a strech, but i find the lengths people will go to defend this guys movies insane.

[@Montie-Adkins]

@@luminousdragon I was not defending him or his movies. The character is ancient. The trope is not accurate.

[@locutos8397]

Please, tell me about one child who didn't have a crush on an older person. Be it a teacher, a celebrity or whatever (looking at you, Cameron Diaz on The Mask). Is it cringe? Yes. Kids are very cringe. Why showing normal things is so wrong? It's not like the story went the wrong way... in this regard at least 😂.

[@I.am_Groot]

Facts. Leon is about an unconventional relationship that develops after some awful parenting goes completely batshit crazy. I get why some people want to cast judgement but this was the 90's when film was digging deeper into difficult subjects. Leon is a great film and if someone feels cringe don't watch it but those of us who get the story its a tale of what a REAL MAN should do when a young child exposes their crush

[@sbolfing]

I always felt the movie, or at least the way Mathilda acted, was supposed to be uncomfortable. The point was that Leon, even though slightly off mentally, would NEVER have taken advantage. This allowed Mathilda to feel safe - something she had not experienced in her real family, even if it was with a contract killer.

[@luminousdragon]

LeeLoo is the perfect example of the "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope. For Leon, the script had a sexual scene the director kept secret from Natalie Portman and her parents, knowing they would object, so they were caught off gaurd and did do a rehearsal of it, but luckily they refused to let her do it say she would be pulled off the movie if necessary. The director also married a 15 year old when he was 32. He then left that woman for the actress who plays LeeLoo. Hes been accused of rape by 5-9 women. You can interpret it differently, but i dont think your interpretation was the directors.

[@yolokorea7557]

Leon turned out to be a great film but no thanks to Luc Besson who originally wanted it to be a depiction of a sexual relationship between Matilda and the hitman, based on his own sexual relationship and subsequent marriage to teeange Maiwenn (who he met at 12 and got pregnant at 15). Thankfully Jean Reno and Portman's parents said no effing way, deliberately refused to film sex scenes with Portman, and Reno also played his own character more childlike and innocent to make the whole relationship less awkward. In the end, that made the film perfect. But yeah, Portman had a lucky escape from Besson. P.S. Besson subsequently left his teenage wife Maiwenn for Milla Jovovich during the filming of the Fifth Element. Both were more than 15 years younger than him.

[@I.am_Groot]

Fun Fact: None of that dictates how anyone can or should enjoy the film

[@ItWentChunkaCHUNK]

The Professional is a great movie. If the kid trying to be sexy even though she's a (very not sexy) kid makes you feel icky, that's a you problem.

[@neonbarnowl]

Grown man impregnated a 16 yr old irl when he was 32 and was inspired to make this movie. But everyone who knows subtext is the weirdo and not the actual pdf file inspired by his own life 🙄

[@gregwalsh2045]

I’ve always seen it as part of the point of the movie, portmans character wanting romantic love where Leon was paternal

[@johnwerner69]

​@@gregwalsh2045Jean Reno only played the character that way because he taught that the love plot would be creepy

[@RecursiveDimension]

@@neonbarnowl Lmao. Sorry. That's the first time seeing "pdf file" being used like that. 🤣🤣

[@sayresrudy2644]

💯

[@nomadrichproductions]

I love both of those movies

[@toecutterjones]

Her role in Beautiful Girls was also a tween with an older dude, it's totally ick.

[@cantoexmachina5616]

I’m confused. Wasn’t the whole point that everything was wrong? Leon was a hitman who took in a child whose parents were killed by corrupt police and because being a hitman was all he really knew that’s what he taught her, but she taught him there was more to life than “cleaning” and it got him killed. I think it’s a great film, but were we supposed to be okay with any of it?

[@benjamindeharo314]

You'd be surprised by the number of people who doesn't understand fiction. Of course art have no obligation to be ethical and can portray morally gray characters. Regular people failing to understand this is already pretty bad, but coming from an actress like Natalie Portman, it's just ridiculous...

[@harrisonbarr7239]

That is the message of the film yes. But it was not the original intention, it was originally a love letter to Maiwenn, who was 15 when Luc Besson had a kid with her. We can thank Jean Reno and the producers for stripping away the more pedophilic elements.

[@luminousdragon]

LeeLoo is the perfect example of the "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope. For Leon, the script had a sexual scene the director kept secret from Natalie Portman and her parents, knowing they would object, so they were caught off gaurd and did do a rehearsal of it, but luckily they refused to let her do it say she would be pulled off the movie if necessary. The director also married a 15 year old when he was 32. He then left that woman for the actress who plays LeeLoo. Hes been accused of rape by 5-9 women. Now, look a viewer gets to interpret a piece of art how they wish. BNut then you have ignorant fools like benjamindeharo314 acting as if none of what i said above is true, and anyone who acknowledges that this director had different intentions is in his words "failing to understand" and "ridiculous". Go on buddy.

[@robertprosser4425]

Luc Besson is French. Perhaps a French person can correct me here. Yes, things need to be put in a context. In France the legal age for marriage can be less than 18 with a few provisions. I'm not taking either side just saying that that the context of this movie did sit inside what was suitable in a certain culture at a certain time. Although, my two cents, Besson pushed the limits (also in real life).

[@username7763]

USA varies between states but many allow under 18 with some rules around it. I knew someone who got married before 18. Some states can be 15 or 16. I think that is far too young but society has changed a lot and there was a time where that wasn't unusual. Just because something is legal doesn't mean it should be done anyway.

[@Shannon-Smith]

I absolutely LOVED this film.

[@ChainsawDunDeez]

It was always cringy... Leon could see she was understandablly emotionally damaged/ confused and having a crush on her hero ( he saved her multiple times)... his reactions where perfect... he kept it professional ...

[@MetalDetectoristMick]

But if you recall in the film Leon's rejects ALL advances and suggestions by Matildas character and even tells her she's a little girl. In the end he sees her as his daughter and would do anything to protect her. He learns there us much more to life besides killing and has made him feel in spite his past mistakes which brought him to this life of crime to begin with. Critics are gonna hate and try and always try make controversy over the past and erase it.

[@tomace4677]

If you want to talk about cringey sexualization of children, why not go after Netflix's Cuties? Honestly no clue why you included the 5th Element as an example here, guessing whoever wrote this didn't watch the movie. I haven't seen the professional yet but it makes me think it is blown way out of proportion by the way the 5th Element is characterized.

[@onetwothreeabc]

It's a fiction. Lots of people commit murder or even genocide in those movies.

[@neonbarnowl]

The dude was 32 when he started dating 15 yr old and impregnated her at 16 which inspired the movie lol cmon

[@ottoacid1800]

​@neonbarnowl Actually, she could very well have been 15 when she got pregnant. Maiwenn turned 16 on April 17th 1992, her daughter was born January 3rd 1993, so that's less than a 9 month gap between the sweet 16 and the birth.

[@neonbarnowl]

@ottoacid1800 very true, preaching to the choir. It blows my mind people can be so dismissive of the movies *CLEAR* undertones considering the dude is legitimately a groomer who would start seeing a child at 12 and have her giving birth at 16 and yet we're the off ones? Half of them would be up in arms about Cuties for *dancing* suggestively but hand wave a movie made by a pedo-meter-

[@abrahamlupis9354]

@@neonbarnowl well, we should ignore it like the poor uyghur community

[@TheSupermonty15]

That shot was creepy man

[@DadWithAnIpad]

The movie is a masterpiece

[@sayresrudy2644]

exactly right

[@SimonCamilleri]

No mention of Poor Things?

[@VarudoTakumbo]

Whe she got asked, she publicly said she would like to replay the role of Mathilda. It's up online, you can go look it up. Months later, she said there are "multiple cringey aspects to the movie". Lol

[@TheErlend87]

He asks whats the point of looking back, and then says good reasons to look back...

[@baseball_tomorrow-sv9tk]

People keep misrepresenting Natalie Portman. She thinks some aspects of the film are cringey but she still appreciates it and she's even expressed twice in video interviews over the past couple of years that she wants to do a sequel.

[@VerityRabbit]

Kinda like how "Poor Things" was shamed at the Oscars for actually depicting all that super graphically this year. 😑

[@abrahamlupis9354]

the only thing that I don't agree is in front of children

[@Mrch33ky]

Another Screen rant written by AI. YYYYAAAAAWWWWWNNNNNNN.

[@Tom-kc9hg]

Besson did nothing wrong.

[@jemma6596]

Dated a 15 yo, who he married when she was 16. He was about 20 years older.

[@darthracer777]

Portman recently stated she'd like to play Mathilda in a sequel. So, you have to take her criticisms with a grain of salt.

[@brycesstuff]

Every time I see something about this movie I have to leave this comment. If you think there's anything wrong with that movie, you need to take a hard look at yourself. Everything in that movie was innocent except for the criminals. And as far as the fifth Element is concerned, leeloo was literally a supreme being. She learned everything about humanity including the language in a short amount of time from a computer screen. These are fictional movies people. If you need to be outraged about young girls in movies, maybe you need to figure out why young girls in movies are an issue for you. I grew up with these movies, and there was never an issue. Nobody ever had a problem with these movies.

[@alexpetrishkoable]

Now we need screen rant for screen rant to point out the BS

[@GreenInvasion]

Hell, it never crossed my mind that there was any suspicious "attraction" in between this two in the film. Maybe some people only see what they want to see.

[@polreamonn]

Still NP's finest performance.

[@joshpetzoldt6344]

I guess you haven't seen the Star Wars prequels then 😂😅😊. Seriously though, she's pretty good in V for Vendetta, Annihilation and Thor.

[@DeathCrunch]

​@@joshpetzoldt6344I'd argue what she was given in Star Wars couldnt have been acted any better tbqh. And if you're going to include thor you have to include love and thunder, and thor 2, which sucked dingles.

[@ottoacid1800]

​@@joshpetzoldt6344 How about Black Swan, Jackie, or May December? She makes movies for grown-ups too, ya know.

[@polreamonn]

@@ottoacid1800 I'm never going to watch any of those films.

[@Mamo878]

Um, Portman read the script before she said 'Yes' to the role. And so did her parents. Why the fck would her parents let her do the movie in the first place if they had a problem with the content. Obviously none of the Portmans had an issue with it at the time it was made. As Besson said, you need to judge the moment _in the moment._ Years later things can change.

[@madisynissaquah243]

lol ANYONE who cries about this movie hasnt seen LOLITA 1997

[@marswillrule2431]

She should give up her fame then

[@Niesrind]

Leloo is several thousand years old. She only seems "young" because she does not unterstand the inUniverse current technology like touchscreens and what multipasses are for. But that's not "young" in a sexually problematic way - I never thought of her as "too young" until itz was mentioned in this video. And now that I think about it, I find it ridiculous to use Leeloo in this way as an argument to criticise L.Besson.

[@alanrickles9285]

The girl falls in love with a grown man, this happens every single day all over the world. They even talk about how inappropriate the relationship is and he shuts it down. You should be watched if you had a problem with this movie, because I'm pretty sure you were hoping for the underage relationship.

[@ottoacid1800]

The director met his wife when she was 12 and he was 29. He claims they started dating when she was 15, conveniently the age of consent in France at that time, it could possibly have been earlier. Regardless, she gave birth to his daughter less than 9 months after her 16th birthday, a year and a half before this movie came out. Given that background information, you don't think him writing and directing about a 13 year girl falling in love with a grown man is a bit troubling? C'mon dude...

[@I.am_Groot]

@@ottoacid1800 So what? My grandma wed at 16 to a 28 year old man those were different times. Not saying I agree with that idea but in the film Leon does the right thing. So why would I care what the director was thinking?

[@lady-coconut]

The point is, a child cannot seduce an older man. An adult has choice over whether he is going to act on his pedophilic urges and commit a crime, or if he doesn't. Keep in mind that many men DO NOT feel attraction to children. Thank God for that. The film was Luc Besson's creepy fantasy, nothing more. Stop blaming victims of childhood sexual abuse. Children do not MAKE adults do anything. If Natalie Portmans character was made to do a a sex scene like Luc Besson originally scripted, it would have actually been a scene of statutory rape, not a consensual act of sex between two adults. The former is illegal for a very good reason.

[@I.am_Groot]

Solid point

[@terrysdavis]

Luv Bessin having a child with a 15yr old when he was 33 obviously further complicates the viewing of this film.

[@PirateJacques79]

It was a 'complicated' movie when it came out. And yes, some of it (particularly that Marilyn Monroe bit) was also 'cringey'. There's nothing new being said here that hasn't also been said of the movie anytime in the last 25+ years.

[@robiadeville9282]

The professional is a classic

[@robiadeville9282]

On top of that, the young girl in the film is the one with the crush and Leon keeps mentoring her on how to behave appropriately. at times he even yells at her to quit it and decides to train her because it allows giving her a new distraction. On top of that she's sarcastic when among others. The film makes sense on a lot of levels if you are aware of psychology.

[@philipsheppard4815]

Considering Besson was a grown man who dated a 15 year old his might not be the best opinion on this.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

Leeloo was literally thousands of years older than Corbin Dallas.

[@spiegel972]

Pfff, people...

[@Lunkr]

Let's not forget the remake of the book made for film Lolita! This movie has nothing on that one. There was a lot of movies that pushed the certain narrative of young woman/girl with older father figure/lover persona. Heck if we want to get technical there is still states that allow a 16 old girls to have sexual relations with a non authorive male/female. Ok time for me to get of my high horse and go sit on a high pedestal

[@stevenw4334]

fantastic actor and the big blue surely wasnt a tribute to women thats for sure. Just goes to show them men have choices.

[@lillordakira9752]

Luc Busson's Arthur and the Minimoys also shared a questionable relationship with a 10 year old boy played by Freddie Highmore falling in love with a 1000 year Princess voiced by Madonna.

[@abrahamlupis9354]

but that one is ok

[@polreamonn]

So did the MeeeToo movement have no issue with the guns and violence in this film?

[@johnwerner69]

Why would they???

[@Edser9]

You left out the part where Luc Besson is a groomer, and based the love interest on his then wife, who he met when she was 12; dating when she turned 15, he was 31. That the script had a full on sex scene that he wanted acted out and everyone else including the actors (and parents) refused. This is just scratching the surface, even for your softball coverage.

[@abrahamlupis9354]

who cares, Luc Besson is innocent 🎉

[@marshmallowk]

I was super young when I watched it and I got the same vibe 😢 a young girl falling in love with old man

[@Bidenomics-fi3eq]

She's just salty she peaked at 10, never made a better movie. She should fire her agent

[@edwinortega4499]

Delusion is a hell of a drug

[@metube3489]

​@@edwinortega4499 and not understanding Sarcasms is a hell of a disability

[@edwinortega4499]

@@metube3489 You his boyfriend? Did he whisper I wrote a sarcastic comment? Cause I read "she peaked at 10". Reads like he doesn't like Natalie Portman

[@metube3489]

@@edwinortega4499 boyfriend is a strong word, more like a friends with benefits kind of thing.

[@metube3489]

I know you're a little delayed in this area so I'll just point out that that in fact was a sarcastic comment also. Do you see a trend?

[@stevenw4334]

mila adult tho so all stuffed

[@Bluargh02]

This is a little one sided view but yeah, it's creepy in retrospect. At least Leon didn't give in to that child advances. But that's the point, he teached her how to kill and didn't aim for a sexual relationship. It's messed up when you are the actress who played her and realize what your character is actually doing there. I see her point. And it makes the watch pretty uncomfortable 💀

[@I.am_Groot]

Leon is an example of what gentlemen do when a girl too young to engage with shows signs of a crush. If any 30-40 year old male who has had a young girl crush on them to the point of offering herself says they didn't on some level consider it or enjoy the idea a little bit they are lying. We just don't act on it.

[@benjamindeharo314]

Yeah, the fact that he's a cleaner teaching her to clean after her whole family have been cleaned by crooked cops is fine. But the fact that she has feelings ? That's creepy. Talk about broken moral compass...

[@bblvrable]

That's a really weird reading of Léon. The whole point of her affection towards Léon is *supposed* to be ick. Mathilda is extremely messed up in that movie, having been raised by an abusive father, and having seen a corrupt cop murder her whole family, and then is taken in by a hitman who teaches her how to murder people so she can get revenge. She has no idea how normal familial or platonic relationships are supposed to work. It's worth noting that Léon never takes advantage of her in any way. If *that* had happened, I could understand why people would have an issue with the movie. That said, Mathilda's role *is* very cringe, so I can understand why Portman doesn't look back on it too fondly.

[@madisynissaquah243]

Older men have been fascinated by younger women since the begging of time. IT'S EVEN IN THE BIBLE. Herod Antipas ruler of Galilee and Perea had a man killed because a young girl danced for him

[@walter-white4641]

The most uncomfortable movie i have ever watched

[@DeathCrunch]

Damn, you're in for a rude awakening when your parents finally let you watch a pg-13 movie for the first time when you turn 40.

[@walter-white4641]

@@DeathCrunch brother don't give me the ol "you are baby if you cannot stomach a little girl flirt with a grown man while being heavily sexualised" crap

[@benjamindeharo314]

Some people are way too fragile (￣ლ￣๑)

[@walter-white4641]

@@DeathCrunch oh soo your a pedo

[@terrysdavis]

Luv Bessin having a child with a 15yr old when he was 33 obviously further complicates the viewing of this film.

[@abrahamlupis9354]

Judith Godreche is the same, she knew what she was exposing and pretends to be a victim now? give me a break!

[@I.am_Groot]

Not any more than Color Purple being produced by a white man or a Tarantino film produced by Weinstein. The film shows a man resist a young girls crush. If you read more into it cool we are free to feel how we want to but I see it as a story about what SHOULD happen in that situation