History Film / TheProfessional

* LightIsGood: A terrified Mathilda is knocking on Léon's door, watched by a suspicious member of Stansfield's gang. Nothing happens, though we know Léon is on the other side of the door, debating whether to involve himself in the matter. As Stansfield's goon becomes more suspicious, light shines on Mathilda's face from the opening door and we see her look of relief. [[spoiler:This trope is inverted when a flash of light is used to indicate Stansfield shooting Léon {{in the back}}.]]

* DeadLittleSister: Mathilda doesn't give a damn about the rest of her family -- but the bastards who killed her little brother must ''die''.

* AllOfThem

* ComingOfAgeStory: In the beginning of the film, Mathilda is a bratty little girl who fights with her family and watches cartoons all day. Then she decides to dedicate her life to murder and revenge. By the end of the film, she's matured and vowed to "grow roots." The European cut of the film makes more of an issue of her budding sexual sexuality than the American cut, though it also has Mathilda participating in Leon's assassinations, making her ultimate maturity more questionable.

* DressingAsTheEnemy: [[spoiler:Léon wears the uniform of a SWAT officer killed during the raid on his apartment in order to escape through the cordon of police.]]

* IKEAWeaponry: Léon's [[spoiler:paintball]] sniper rifle counts.

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: Stansfield is pretty careless about where he points his gun. It's unclear how much of this is artistic license and how much is Stansfield simply being an unhinged psychopath.

* [[KnightTemplarBigBrother Knight Templar Big Sister]]: Mathilda

* [[spoiler:TakingYouWithMe:]] "This is from Mathilda."

* VillainousBreakdown
** Stansfield has a classic one near the end - also an example of AllOfThem

** Also, [[DrugsAreBad when he takes]] [[PhlebotinumPills some pills]] and [[EvilFeelsGood starts enjoying himself]][[DissonantSerenity ...]]

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: Stansfield is pretty careless about where he points his gun.

* [[spoiler:BittersweetEnding: Léon dies, but Mathilda gets her revenge -- and "Léon's" roots can grow, now.]]

* CelibateHero: Léon hasn't had a girlfriend since his first love was murdered.

* CoolShades: Léon's trademark killing ensemble includes a pair of vintage 1990's round sunglasses.

* [[DeadLittleSister Dead Little Brother]]: Mathilda doesn't give a damn about the rest of her family -- but the bastards who killed her little brother must ''die''.

* [[spoiler:DyingMomentOfAwesome: Léon's death scene counts -- especially since he takes Stansfield with him.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards
** One of Stanfield's men reacts with horror when Mathilda's brother ends up getting accidentally killed by Blood; he's heard shouting angrilly at Blood later in the scene. Killing the rest of the family apparently fell within his standards.
** Léon refuses to take jobs which involve killing women or children.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: The night after Léon takes Mathilda into his home, he's staring at the ceiling while she's asleep -- before he leaps up, attaches a silencer to his pistol, and places the gun against Mathilda's head. Despite knowing the burden she'll be on him, Léon [[EvenEvilHasStandards can't pull the trigger]] -- and depending on the interpretation, this might have been an aborted MercyKill instead.

* ProfessionalKiller: Léon is a subversion of the hitman archetype.

* CareerKillers: Léon is a subversion of the hitman archetype.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: The protagonists are a hitman and a young girl interested in killing people, while the antagonist is a {{complete monster}} of a corrupt cop.

** YMMV. In this troper's opinion, Mathilda's love for Leon is a misinterpreted love for him as the father she never had. Her advances are simply her applying her limited knowledge of love, which, for her, is pretty much her parents' groping and whatever she sees on TV.

* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: In an imitation game, Léon fails to recognize {{Music/Madonna}}, MarilynMonroe, and CharlieChaplin, while Mathilda confuses JohnWayne with Creator/ClintEastwood.

** Stansfield has a classic one near the end.

* GunKata: A shotgun-toting Stansfield moves to the [[Literature/AClockworkOrange Ludwig Van]] in his head while massacring Mathilda's family.

* AffablyEvil: Tony comes across as a nice guy and even throws children's birthday parties in his lair -- but he also orders several dozen people murdered over the short period of time in which the film takes place. Given [[AssholeVictim the sort of lowlifes]] that would require Léon's cleaning services in the first place, it's likely a case of GrayAndGrayMorality.

* HowManyAllOfThem

* NoPeripheralVision: Léon hides above the doorway as the SWAT team enters his apartment. To be fair, they are wearing gas masks, which restrict vision quite a bit.

* EvillyAffable: Stansfield cracks jokes and [[WickedCultured discusses classical music]] while murdering entire families.

* FluffyTheTerrible: Léon is this -- at least, according to Mathilda:

This film is not to be confused with ''TheProfessionals'' (a British TV series) or ''Le Professionnel'' (another French film with Jean-Paul Belmondo as its star).

* KnightTemplar: Stansfield becomes this in his quest to hunt Leon down.

* FauxActionGirl: Mathilda turns out to be this, but only because Stansfield stops her before she gets a chance to pull a weapon.

* LittleMissBadass: Mathilda single-handedly [[DeadlyDelivery infiltrates a busy federal bureau with a bag full of weapons]]. She ends up being a FauxActionGirl, though, when she hesitates to kill Stansfield and gets herself captured. [[JustifiedTrope Stansfield got the drop on her before she could pull her weapon. Plus: twelve-year-old.]]

[[spoiler:'''Stansfield:''']] Shit...

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