Léon: The Professional (1994) - Quotes

The Invisible Forces of Control

Taglines: You can't stop what you can't see.

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A Perfect Assassin and an Innocent Girl

Taglines: A perfect assassin. An innocent girl. They have nothing left to lose except each other. He moves without sound. Kills without emotion. Disappears without trace. Only a 12 year old girl... knows his weakness.

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Silent and Invisible: The Perfect Assassin

Taglines: He moves without sound. Kills without emotion. Disappears without trace.

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A Child's Plea for Trust and Help

Mathilda: My parents... d-died in a car accident four weeks ago. Terrible.

Headmistress: You know, we didn't have the time to get to know one another when you first came here. But I want you to know that I'm not the kind of woman that would let down a child — whatever her situation, whatever her mistake. So I'm going to help you and do my best to welcome you here again. But on one condition: you have to stop lying to me, Mathilda. I want you to take a chance, and trust me. Now tell me what happened to you.

Mathilda: Okay. My family got shot down by D.E.A. officers because of a drug problem. I left with the greatest guy on earth. He was a hit man — the best in town. But he died this morning... and if you don't help me, I'll be dead by tonight.

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A Unique Approach to Earning Money

Tony: In the meantime, all you gotta do is come here every once in a while and I'll dish it out so's you can have a little fun. Okay? Here's a hundred bucks to start with.

Mathilda: Can't I get a job instead?

Tony: A job? What the hell can you do?

Mathilda: I can "clean".

Tony: I ain't got no work for a twelve-year-old kid, so get it out of your goddamn head! It's OVER! The game's OVER! Léon's DEAD!

Tony: [softly; Starts to get impatient] You hear me?! Come on. You think I ain't hurtin too? But he's dead. And you're gonna forget all this craziness and get your little ass back to school. Capisce? Now take this money, and get the hell outta here, and don't let me see your face till next month, cause something tells me I'm about to lose my famous kind streak!

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A Tense Encounter Between Leon and Stansfield

Leon: Stansfield?

Stansfield: At your service.

Leon: [giving Stansfield something] This is... from... Mathilda...

Stansfield: [sees that it's a pin for a grenade and opens Leon's vest to find grenades strapped to his body] Shit...

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A Promise of Togetherness and Hope

Mathilda: I don't wanna lose you, Leon.

Léon: You're not going to lose me. You've given me a taste for life. I wanna be happy. Sleep in a bed, have roots. And you'll never be alone again, Mathilda. Please, go now, baby, go. Calm down, go now, go.

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Tension Escalates in SWAT Operation

SWAT Team Leader: Alpha team, final position, ready to go.

Stansfield: Be careful.

SWAT Team Leader: Alpha team, man down, man down.

Stansfield: I told you. Benny, bring me everyone.

Benny: What do you mean "everyone"?

Stansfield: EV-ERY-ONE!!

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Reflections on Death and Personal Motives

Willie: I think it was something personal.

Stansfield: [whispering] Death is... whimsical today.

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A Conversation About Food and Independence

Norman Stansfield: Special delivery, huh? Let me guess. Chinese? Thai, maybe? I've got it — Italian food. What's your name, angel?

Mathilda: Mathilda.

Norman Stansfield: [He draws a pistol.] Mathilda, I want you to set the sack on the floor. Good. And now, I want you to tell me everything you know about Italian food... and don't forget the name of the chef who fixed it for me.

Mathilda: Nobody sent me. I do business for myself.

Norman Stansfield: So, th-th-this, this is something personal, is it? What filthy piece of shit... did I do now?

Mathilda: You killed my brother.

Norman Stansfield: [he moves in close to Mathilda.] I'm sorry. And — you wanna join him?

Mathilda: No.

Norman Stansfield: It's always the same thing. It's when you start to become really afraid of death that you learn to appreciate life. Do you like life, sweetheart?

Mathilda: [whispering] Yes.

Norman Stansfield: That's good — because I take no pleasure in taking a life if it's from a person who doesn't care about it.

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Questioning Morality in a Dangerous Situation

Léon: What are you doing?

Mathilda: You said no women or kids. Who do you think this is going to kill, donkeys and monkeys?

Mathilda: [in tears] Now... it's clean.

Léon: [Pulls Mathilda out of the room with him.] Let's get out of here.

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Growing Up and Aging Perspectives

Léon: You need some time to grow up a little.

Mathilda: I finished growing up, Léon. I just get older.

Léon: For me it's the opposite. I'm old enough. I need time to grow up.

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The Challenges of Childhood and Life

Mathilda: Is life always this hard, or is it just when you're a kid?

Léon: Always like this.

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Police Inquiry into a Shooting Incident

Officer 1: We know you're a busy man and we'll try to make this as short as possible. Now if you just take us step by step through exactly what happened.

Stansfield: The guy was here, he went for his gun. Bang! We shot him.

Officer 2: Where exactly were the kids?

Stansfield: I don't know! They should have been at school, don't you think?

Officer 1: But in the statement you said you were the first man in, didn't you see any kids?

Officer 2: The door was broken, what happened? Did you follow the procedure?

Stansfield: I lost a good man here. What the fuck do you want with me?

Officer 2: Cooperation.

Stansfield: I haven't got TIME for this Mickey Mouse bullshit! You want cooperation? Come up my office, will you? Room 4602.

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Exploring First Love and Uncertainty

Mathilda: Leon, I think I'm kinda falling in love with you.

Mathilda: It's the first time for me, you know?

Léon: [wiping himself off] How do you know it's love if you've never been in love before?

Mathilda: Cause I feel it.

Léon: Where?

Mathilda: [stroking her stomach] In my stomach. It's all warm. I always had a knot there and now... it's gone.

Léon: Mathilda, I'm glad you don't have a stomach ache any more. I don't think it means anything.

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Curiosity About Money and Relationships

Léon: Tony, all the money I make that you keep for me —

Tony: You need some money?

Léon: Just curious. Cause I've been working for a long time and I haven't done anything with my money.

Tony: You met a woman.

Léon: No.

Tony: Léon... Léon, you gotta be careful with women. Remember when you first arrived in this country? When I took you in you were still wet behind the fuckin ears, and already you were in deep shit because of a woman. Don't forget that, Léon.

Léon: I wish I could sometimes. You know, about my money — maybe I could give a little to someone, you know, to help out.

Tony: Hey, it's your money. I mean, I'm just holding it for you, like a bank. Except better than a bank, cause you know banks always get knocked off. No one knocks off old Tony.

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Unresolved Plans After Breakfast

Léon: [Mathilda nods.] You sleep well? Good. After breakfast you gotta take off.

Mathilda: Where to?

Léon: Not my problem.

Mathilda: [setting note in front of Léon] : Read it.

Léon: [stares blankly at note.] Uh —

Mathilda: You don't know how to read.

Léon: I'm learning, but I've had a lot of work lately, so... I'm a little behind. What's it say?

Mathilda: I've decided what I want to do with my life. I wanna be a cleaner.

Léon: [sets a pistol on table] You wanna be a cleaner? Here, take it. It's a goodbye gift. Go clean — but not with me! I work alone, understand? Alone!

Mathilda: [[w:Bonnie and Clyde|Bonnie and Clyde; [w:Thelma & Louise|Thelma and Louise] ] didn't work alone! ] didn't work alone! And they were the best.

Unexpected Revelations About a Mysterious Profession

Mathilda: Leon, what exactly do you do for a living?

Léon: Cleaner.

Mathilda: You mean you're a hit man?

Mathilda: Cool.

Mathilda: Do you "clean" anyone?

Léon: No women, no kids. That's the rules.

Mathilda: How much would it cost to hire someone to get those dirtbags who killed my brother?

Léon: Five grand a head.

Mathilda: Wow. How about this: I work for you, and in exchange, you teach me how to clean. Hmmm? What do you think? I'll clean your place, I'll do the shopping, I'll even wash your clothes. Is it a deal?

Léon: No, it's not a deal.

Mathilda: What do you want me to do? I've got no place to go.

Léon: You've had a rough day today. Go to sleep now. We'll see in the morning.

The Conflict Between Revenge and Forgiveness

Léon: Revenge is not a good thing, it's better to forget.

Mathilda: Forget? After I've seen the outline of my brother's body on the floor, you expect me to forget? I wanna kill those sons of bitches, and blow their fucking heads off!

Confronting Family Dynamics and Personal Loss

Léon: I'm sorry about your father.

Mathilda: If somebody didn't do it, one day or another I would've probably done it myself.

Léon: Your mother, she —

Mathilda: She's not my mother! And my sister — she wanted to lose some weight anyway. Bet she never looked better. She's not even my real sister. Just a half-sister, and not a good half at that.

Léon: If you couldn't stand them, why are you crying?

Mathilda: Because they killed my brother! What the hell did he do? Four years old... he never used to cry. He just used to sit next to me and cuddle. I was more of a mother to him than that goddamn pig ever was!

School Policy on Student Absence Explained

Mathilda: [on telephone] Hello?

Caller: This is Margueritte McAllister, headmistress of the Spencer School for Girls in Wildwood, New Jersey. Is Mr. or Mrs. Lando home?

Mathilda: [faking deeper voice] Yes, this is she.

Caller: Mrs. Lando, when your husband enrolled Mathilda at Spencer, he told us she had "problems". Well, as you know, we pride ourselves on turning troubled girls into healthy, productive young women. But if they are not here, there is very little we can do. Now, Mathilda left school without permission nearly two weeks ago. I know your husband paid tuition in advance for a year, but if you will refer to page twenty of the rules and regulations manual we sent you, you will see that unless there is a valid excuse for prolonged absence, your tuition will be forfeit.

Mathilda: [She hangs up.] She's dead.

Appreciating Calm Moments Before Chaos

Stansfield: I like these calm little moments before the storm. It reminds me of Beethoven. Can you hear it? It's like when you put your head to the grass and you can hear the growin and you can hear the insects. Do you like Beethoven?

Malky: I couldn't really say.

Stansfield: [[Beethoven; laughs and sighs] You don't like ]. You don't know what you're missing. Overtures like that get my... juices flowing. So powerful. But after his openings, to be honest, he does tend to get a little fucking boring. That's why I stopped! Toss the apartment.

Mathilda's Confession of Love to Leon

Mathilda: I hope you're not lying Leon. I really hope that deep down there's no love in you. And if there is, I think in a few minutes you'll regret you never said anything. I love you Leon.

Desire for Love or Death

Mathilda: I don't give a shit about sleeping, Leon. I want love, or death. That's it.

The Progression of a Professional's Skills

Léon: The rifle is the first weapon you learn how to use, because it lets you keep your distance from the client. The closer you get to being a pro, the closer you can get to the client. The knife, for example, is the last thing you learn.