"La Femme Nikita"-Luc Besson-1990
This was Besson's first big film. It has one of the best openings I've ever seen in an action film. A group of drug addicts try to rob a pharmacy. One of the gang is the son of the pharmacy owner. When his father appears with a shotgun; things fall apart. One of the addicts is a teenage girl. She calls herself Nikita; she is in desperate need of a fix. Anne Parillaud gives a gripping portrayal.She hides on the floor when the police come. She is the only gang member who isn't killed. She picks up a gun off the floor; she kills the cop who gets close to her. Her reactions are uncontrolled. Besson took 100 takes of her opening scene; he used the second.
She is tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years. After the trial she is taken to a basement medical room. She thinks she is going to be killed by injection; she struggles in vain. When she wakes up she is in a bare room in a special training school. The government wants her to be an agent capable of using violence.
The alternative is to actually fill her false grave.
Her principal trainer is Bob (Tcheky Karya). They don't have a smooth start. Nikita tries to escape using Bob as a shield. When that fails, Bob shoots her in the leg. She remains pretty out of control. One of the best bits during her training is her first time on the gun range. She ignores her instructor; picks up a gun and fires 5 shots into the target. The instructor asks: "Have you ever shot a gun before?" She replies: "Never at paper."
Bob believes she has promise, but the director gives Bob only two weeks to get her act together.
Armande (Jean Moreau) teaches her how to be an attractive woman. "There are only two things which are infinite, femininity and the means to take advantage of it>" Nikita makes it through training. The film jumps ahead 3 years; Nikita is ready to graduate and leave the agency training center. Bob takes her out for dinner, Nikita doesn't realize it but the dinner date is also her final examination before becoming an agent.
Up to the time she leaves the training center; I can find no fault with the story, performances, or visuals. The second part crams too much story into too little time. Nikita now Marie to her lover who she meets the first time she goes food shopping has a fake job as a nurse. She never even goes to the hospital. After only two jobs she is given a major assignment. She has to liberate information about the buyers of secret information from the Russian (?) ambassador. She runs her own team. She has six months to do the job, quietly with no messy violence.
This film was re-made as "Point of No Return" with Bridget Fonda, not badly, but far short of the original in style, content, and acting. Two television series came out based of the film. The first "La Femme Nikita" came out in the '90's. The second "Nikita" began in 2010 and ran for I believe 5 seasons. Besson has the ability to craft action films with an emotional human core. In this case we see a drug addict teen, totally out of control, and violent mature. She becomes a surprisingly empathetic young woman. We have grown to care about her. Government sanctioned violence is still violence. This template has been used by others; Jason Bourne is perhaps the best of those portrayals. Ebert felt that "Nikita" was a rif on "Pygmalion." Unlike Pygmalion or Cinderella, there is no happily ever after. For fans Jan Reno appears as Victor a cleaner; this led to his being cast as Leon.
My highest recommendation. I've seen this film more than a half dozen times. It never gets old. I liked both TV shows and "Point of No Return." I've seen a few Parillaud films, but only "Innocent Blood" shows her acting chops. Still, it doesn't reach the level of "Nikita." She has an expressive face, and her ability to change moods in a flash is wonderful. Unfortunately, no free streaming options are actually available. Still, this is a highpoint of the genre.
This was Besson's first big film. It has one of the best openings I've ever seen in an action film. A group of drug addicts try to rob a pharmacy. One of the gang is the son of the pharmacy owner. When his father appears with a shotgun; things fall apart. One of the addicts is a teenage girl. She calls herself Nikita; she is in desperate need of a fix. Anne Parillaud gives a gripping portrayal.She hides on the floor when the police come. She is the only gang member who isn't killed. She picks up a gun off the floor; she kills the cop who gets close to her. Her reactions are uncontrolled. Besson took 100 takes of her opening scene; he used the second.
She is tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years. After the trial she is taken to a basement medical room. She thinks she is going to be killed by injection; she struggles in vain. When she wakes up she is in a bare room in a special training school. The government wants her to be an agent capable of using violence.
The alternative is to actually fill her false grave.
Her principal trainer is Bob (Tcheky Karya). They don't have a smooth start. Nikita tries to escape using Bob as a shield. When that fails, Bob shoots her in the leg. She remains pretty out of control. One of the best bits during her training is her first time on the gun range. She ignores her instructor; picks up a gun and fires 5 shots into the target. The instructor asks: "Have you ever shot a gun before?" She replies: "Never at paper."
Bob believes she has promise, but the director gives Bob only two weeks to get her act together.
Armande (Jean Moreau) teaches her how to be an attractive woman. "There are only two things which are infinite, femininity and the means to take advantage of it>" Nikita makes it through training. The film jumps ahead 3 years; Nikita is ready to graduate and leave the agency training center. Bob takes her out for dinner, Nikita doesn't realize it but the dinner date is also her final examination before becoming an agent.
Up to the time she leaves the training center; I can find no fault with the story, performances, or visuals. The second part crams too much story into too little time. Nikita now Marie to her lover who she meets the first time she goes food shopping has a fake job as a nurse. She never even goes to the hospital. After only two jobs she is given a major assignment. She has to liberate information about the buyers of secret information from the Russian (?) ambassador. She runs her own team. She has six months to do the job, quietly with no messy violence.
This film was re-made as "Point of No Return" with Bridget Fonda, not badly, but far short of the original in style, content, and acting. Two television series came out based of the film. The first "La Femme Nikita" came out in the '90's. The second "Nikita" began in 2010 and ran for I believe 5 seasons. Besson has the ability to craft action films with an emotional human core. In this case we see a drug addict teen, totally out of control, and violent mature. She becomes a surprisingly empathetic young woman. We have grown to care about her. Government sanctioned violence is still violence. This template has been used by others; Jason Bourne is perhaps the best of those portrayals. Ebert felt that "Nikita" was a rif on "Pygmalion." Unlike Pygmalion or Cinderella, there is no happily ever after. For fans Jan Reno appears as Victor a cleaner; this led to his being cast as Leon.
My highest recommendation. I've seen this film more than a half dozen times. It never gets old. I liked both TV shows and "Point of No Return." I've seen a few Parillaud films, but only "Innocent Blood" shows her acting chops. Still, it doesn't reach the level of "Nikita." She has an expressive face, and her ability to change moods in a flash is wonderful. Unfortunately, no free streaming options are actually available. Still, this is a highpoint of the genre.