It's been a while since I saw Leon. I always found Leon a bit simple-minded. A bit child-like.

Trusting his (shady) employer with all of his money. I never picked up any 'pedo'-vibes. Until you mentioned it.

I think the short answer is "no".

He gave her a reason that would not make her feel like a silly child. He was saying no in a way that wouldn't make her feel rejected. (Or tries to - she's still gets upset) Pretty important for an orphan wouldn't you say.

He might not be the sharpest hammer in the box, but he had parallel character development to Matilda only he was going through an emotional awakening.

@Joe79 said:

He gave her a reason that would not make her feel like a silly child. He was saying no in a way that wouldn't make her feel rejected. (Or tries to - she's still gets upset) Pretty important for an orphan wouldn't you say.

So you reckon his sob story is just a ruse to get out of having to plough the kid without making her upset and threaten to blow her head off again?

I dunno, he seemed pretty invested in the sob story - he was crying and everything. Plus, as you mentioned, he’s dumb. Seemed genuine to me.

@Drooch said:

@Joe79 said:

He gave her a reason that would not make her feel like a silly child. He was saying no in a way that wouldn't make her feel rejected. (Or tries to - she's still gets upset) Pretty important for an orphan wouldn't you say.

So you reckon his sob story is just a ruse to get out of having to plough the kid without making her upset and threaten to blow her head off again?

I dunno, he seemed pretty invested in the sob story - he was crying and everything. Plus, as you mentioned, he’s dumb. Seemed genuine to me.

I never said it was a ruse - it can be true and still be a way to let her down easy. In fact it being true speaks more to his character and intentions than if it weren't. Instead of avoiding a painful story from his past and simply brushing her off, he chose to put himself through pain to spare hers.

Instead of avoiding a painful story from his past and simply brushing her off, he chose to put himself through pain to spare hers.

Also to not have to go through with boning a child, surely?

I'd suspect the director to be more of a pedo than Leon. Given what we know about Hollywood, that wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. Leon avoided doing anything sexual with that little girl throughout the whole film.

@YouShouldKnow said:

I'd suspect the director to be more of a pedo than Leon. Given what we know about Hollywood, that wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. Leon avoided doing anything sexual with that little girl throughout the whole film.

Agreed. Imagine being given such a terrible script. Leon's character is actually quite interesting and could've been used much better.

But what a damn cringefest of a movie this was. Definitely one of the worst I have seen in years... Absolute trash. What a freaking waste of the talent of Reno and Oldman.

He actually did sleep with her but that scene (that they shot) was not used in the final edit of the released movie.

NO!

She was in love with him and tried to seduce him, but he rejected her while, in his simple minded fashion, trying not to break her heart.

No, he wasn't a pedophile.

@YouShouldKnow said:

I'd suspect the director to be more of a pedo than Leon. Given what we know about Hollywood, that wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. Leon avoided doing anything sexual with that little girl throughout the whole film.

Bingo.

I think that's the real point (of any film), not whether a character is a sicko but whether the writer/director is venting their inner sicko. The most striking example would be Woody Allen whose films often revolve around an old man and a teenage girl. Whether or not the characters in his stories are pedos is beside the point, ya gotta step back and ask why tf is Woody Allen obsessed with the same pseudo-pedo storyline?

If we're talking about Luc Besson who wrote & directed Leon, I don't really see a pattern of pedo in his films. But I can't say either way without knowing the man.

One thing is worthy of note though, in the 90s there was a certain art-house movement (notably in France/Europe) that explored the idea of an innocent yet pseudo-romantic relationship between an older man & young girl. The best one I can think of is The City of Lost Children, which is charming. Ron Perlman plays a dim-witted brute who becomes a 12-year old girl's big crush. I don't think anyone on the planet would be offended by that that one. (And the director Jean-Pierre Jeunet seems to be a genuinely nice guy, he later did Amelie). A slightly more questionable one would be Terry Gilliam's Tideland which I personally thought was pretty sketch, but a lot of filmgoers saw no problem. Whatever, it's up for interpretation. Maybe on film it can be artistic if we can distance ourselves from how shady it is in the real world.

Anyway, the point is I agree with YouShouldKnow. If we really want to know what the movie is portraying, we should look into the mind of the person who wrote it.

@rooprect said:

@YouShouldKnow said:

I'd suspect the director to be more of a pedo than Leon. Given what we know about Hollywood, that wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. Leon avoided doing anything sexual with that little girl throughout the whole film.

Bingo.

I think that's the real point (of any film), not whether a character is a sicko but whether the writer/director is venting their inner sicko. The most striking example would be Woody Allen whose films often revolve around an old man and a teenage girl. Whether or not the characters in his stories are pedos is beside the point, ya gotta step back and ask why tf is Woody Allen obsessed with the same pseudo-pedo storyline?

If we're talking about Luc Besson who wrote & directed Leon, I don't really see a pattern of pedo in his films. But I can't say either way without knowing the man.

One thing is worthy of note though, in the 90s there was a certain art-house movement (notably in France/Europe) that explored the idea of an innocent yet pseudo-romantic relationship between an older man & young girl. The best one I can think of is The City of Lost Children, which is charming. Ron Perlman plays a dim-witted brute who becomes a 12-year old girl's big crush. I don't think anyone on the planet would be offended by that that one. (And the director Jean-Pierre Jeunet seems to be a genuinely nice guy, he later did Amelie). A slightly more questionable one would be Terry Gilliam's Tideland which I personally thought was pretty sketch, but a lot of filmgoers saw no problem. Whatever, it's up for interpretation. Maybe on film it can be artistic if we can distance ourselves from how shady it is in the real world.

Anyway, the point is I agree with YouShouldKnow. If we really want to know what the movie is portraying, we should look into the mind of the person who wrote it.

I had never read/heard any controversy about Beeson but according to his Wiki page, there is some.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Besson#Personal_life

@bratface said:

I had never read/heard any controversy about Beeson but according to his Wiki page, there is some.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Besson#Personal_life

Holy cow, good find. Welp I guess that answers the question. Leon(Besson) was a pedo 😅

"Besson's second wife was actress and director Maïwenn Le Besco, whom he started dating when he was 31 and she was 15. They married in late 1992 when Le Besco, 16, was pregnant with their daughter Shanna, who was born on 3 January 1993. Le Besco later claimed that their relationship inspired Besson's film Léon (1994), where the plot involved the emotional relationship between an adult man and a 12-year-old girl."

To answer the original question - Léon is a hitman. I'm pretty sure he doesn't care whether or not she's over 18. That said, he does feel uncomfortable about it.

Characters aside, the writer/director is absolutely a pedo.

I bet the director is one of those stupid men who saw the movie Lolita or read the book and didn't get what the meaning of it is. He made an odd relation between Leon and Mathilda, he even wanted the actor to kiss the 12 years old kid, but he disagreed. I would want to say that the actor is a good person, and he made the acting in a way that thank god the director didn't make him redo it. What I mean is that the way he looked at Mathilda was in an awkward way, not of desire and conflicted emotions. At least that's how I see it, so I never thought about him being a pedo. Their relationship reminds me a lot of Kondou and Tachibana from a manga named "after the rain". Tachibana is a 16 years old highschooler that starts working in a cafe and falls in love with his 45 year old boss. He's very awkward as a person, but even more with the implications of Tachibana feelings after she confesses to him. Spoiler! because probably no one is going to read it, he doesn't end being with her. They developed a relationship that isn't a romantic one, and they parted ways at the final of the manga. I think that would happen between Leon and Mathilda if 1) Leon was alive 2)The director weren't a pedo