Léon: The Professional

L?on:
And stop saying "okay" all the time. Okay?

Mathilda:
Okay.

L?on:
Good.

L?on:
You need some time to grow up a little.

Mathilda:
I finished growing up, L?on. I just get older.

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

Stansfield:
Death is... whimsical... today.

Fatman:
Somebody's coming up. Somebody serious.

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

L?on:
Always like this.

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.

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

L?on:
[Leon] Cleaner.

Mathilda:
You mean you're a hit man?

L?on:
[reluctantly] Yeah.

Mathilda:
Cool.

Mathilda:
Do you "clean" anyone?

L?on:
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?

L?on:
Five grand a head.

Mathilda:
Wow. How about this: I work for you; 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?

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

L?on:
You wanna be a cleaner? [passes her a gun and bullets] Here, take it. It's a goodbye gift. Go clean. But not with me. I work alone, understand? Alone.

Mathilda:
Bonnie and Clyde didn't work alone. Thelma and Louise didn't work alone. And they were the best.

L?on:
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.

Mathilda:
You killed my brother.

Stansfield:
I'm sorry. And you want to join him?

Mathilda:
No.

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:
Yes.

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

Tony:
Check it. Make sure it's the right thing.

L?on:
I trust you.

Tony:
One thing has nothin' to do with the other - remember that L?on.

L?on:
I will.

Mathilda:
Can we try with real bullets now?

Norman Stansfield:
Bring me everyone.

3rd Stansfield man:
What do you mean "everyone"?

Norman Stansfield:
EVERYONE.

[to receptionist after being asked about her father (Leon)]

Mathilda:
He's not my father. He's my lover.

L?on:
Stansfield?

Stansfield:
At your service.

L?on:
[handing him something] This is from... Mathilda.

Stansfield:
[sees that it's a pin for a grenade] Sh*t.

Mathilda:
I am writing here the name of a girl in the class who makes me sick. If things get hot, she'll take the heat.

Stansfield:
What filthy piece of sh*t did I do now?

Stansfield:
[catching Mathilda in the bathroom with food bags] Special delivery huh... Let me guess... Chinese? Thai, maybe? Ahh, I've got it. Italian food

[pops a pill and pulls out a gun]

Stansfield:
What's your name angel... [Mathilda answers]... Mathilda, I want you to put the sack on the floor... good... 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.

Stansfield:
Ahh... so this is... something... personal?... What filthy peice of... sh*t... did I do now?

Mathilda:
You killed my brother.

Stansfield:
Tony, you've killed for us in the past, and we've always been satisfied, which is why it's very hard for me to come down here today. One of my men was killed today in your territory, and the chinks tell me the killer was of the... Italian persuasion. Now, wait, there's more. You'll love this. Not two hours later, a little twelve-year-old girl comes to my building, armed to the teeth with the sole intention of sending me straight to the morgue. And guess who comes to get her? The very same Italian hit man. [Beat] I'm dying to meet him.

Stansfield:
I haven't got time for this Mickey Mouse bullshit.

Orphanage Headmistress:
Now tell me what happened to you.

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

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

[Leon chokes on his milk]

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

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

Mathilda:
'Cause I feel it.

L?on:
Where?

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

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

L?on:
You still have your gun, so use it. Just do me a favor, don't shoot it out the window.

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

L?on:
I took a hit. I need a hand now. I know she's young, but she learns fast. Kids need to be shaped into something right?

Tony:
Yeah, I know. I taught you that. But ain't there an age limit?

L?on:
She's 18.

Tony:
Oh, really?

Mathilda:
There's no doorbell.

L?on:
So knock on the door.

Mathilda:
How are we getting out of here now?

L?on:
Leave it to me. We're checking out.

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

L?on:
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, I'll meet you at Tony's in an hour, I love you, now go, go now.

Malky:
It's cops outside, we better go.

Norman Stansfield:
[repeating] It's the cops outside... we better go.

Cigarette Kid:
Know her?

The Kids:
No.

[he is having sex with his wife in the restroom, Mathilda opens the door]

Mathilda's Father:
Shut the goddamn door!

Mathilda:
[after planting Leon's plant in the school grounds] I think we'll be ok here, Leon.

L?on:
Tony... All the money I make, that you keep for me...

Tony:
You need some money?

L?on:
No, just curious... Because, I've been working a long time... And I havent done anything with my... I thought maybe someday I could [uncomfortable] use it.

Tony:
[Figuring him out] You met a woman.

Stansfield:
You don't like Beethoven. 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 f***ing boring. That's why I stopped! [laughs and sighs] Toss the apartment.

Stansfield:
You're a Mozart fan. I love him too. I looooove Mozart! He was Austrian you know? But for this kind of work, [imitates playing the piano] he's a little bit light. So I tend to go for the heavier guys. Check out Brahms. He's good too.

1st Stansfield man:
[finds pizza among Matilda's guns] Lunch.

2nd Stansfield man:
Careful Blood. Might be poisoned.

1st Stansfield man:
No, no anchovies on this.

Malky:
Hey Stan, Stan! What are doing? He's dead!

Stansfield:
But he ruined my suit.

L?on:
[referring to his plant] It's my best friend. Always happy. No questions.

1st Stansfield man:
He was a pro, he was fast, he f***ing came out of nowhere. [Boom] shoots the chinamen dead in two seconds

Malky:
Easy man I am a cop

1st Stansfield man:
Then turns around and says something to Malky like

L?on:
No women, no kids.

[boom]

L?on:
Ey. What about the ring trick. You know that one?

Pauly:
C'mon, a**hole! C'mon f*ggot. C'mon, gun trick.

L?on:
Hey, what about the ring trick, you've heard that one?

Pauly:
Ring trick? C'mon, a**hole. I'm waiting. Show it to me, motherf***er!

L?on:
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 b*tches, and blow their f***ing heads off!

Stansfield:
[after the building explodes] Hey, what the f*** is going on up there? I said take the guy out, not the whole f***ing building!

Swat Chief:
Now, get this f***ing a**hole out of there.

Old Lady:
[investigating the noise] What's happening out there?

Malky:
All right, ma'am, go away, DEA. Police.

Old Lady:
Why don't you leave that poor family alone?

Malky:
[to Stansfield] It's all right, everything's al right. Just calm down.

Stansfield:
I am calm. [loads his gun, looks at old lady] I'm calm.

Old Lady:
Why don't you leave them alone?

Stansfield:
[shoots the window next to her] He said, "Go back inside".

Mathilda:
How old were you when you made your first hit?

L?on:
Nineteen.

Mathilda:
Beat you!

L?on:
No discussion.

Swat Chief:
Turn the f***ing water off!

Swat Chief:
[speaking to Stansfield through radio] Alpha team, final position, ready to go.

Stansfield:
Be careful.

Swat Chief:
[speaking to Stansfield through radio] Alpha team, man down, man down.

Stansfield:
I told you.

Benny:
Oh, sh*t. We missed a girl, I'm trying to find the f***ing super in this goddamn building.

[first lines]

Tony:
Allora, come stai, Leone?

L?on:
Bene.

[Tony puts out his cigarette in an ashtray]

Tony:
OK. OK. Let's talk business.

[last lines]

Mathilda:
I think we'll be OK here, Leon.

Tony:
Hey, Leon, nothing's gonna happen to you. You're indestructible! Bullets slide off you, you play with 'em.

L?on:
When it's tough like this, you know it's gonna be ugly. Better make it quick, or else you will be here all day listening to his crap.

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.

Mathilda:
[Mathilda, crying about her brother's murder and her stepmother] I was more of a mother to him than thaat goddamn pig ever was!

L?on:
Hey, don't talk like that about pigs. They're usually much nicer than people.

Mathilda:
But they smell like sh*t.

L?on:
Not true. As a matter of fact, right now I have one in my kitchen that's very clean and smells very nice.

Mathilda:
You don't have a pig in your kitchen.

L?on:
Yes, I do.

Mathilda:
I was just in there and I didn't see any goddamned pig.

L?on:
Don't move. I'll get him. [Leon goes into the kitchen]

L?on:
Piggy? Piggy? Where are you?

L?on:
[Oinking noises are heard in the kitchen] Oink, oimk! Ah, there you are.

L?on:
[More oinking, then a pig pot holder sticks its 'head' around the corner] Hi, Mathilda.

Mathilda:
[She smiles] Hi, piggy.

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

L?on:
Sorry about your father.

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

Tony:
Change ain't good, you know L?on?

Mathilda:
[about Russian roulette] If I win, you keep me with you for life.

L?on:
And if you lose?

Mathilda:
Go shopping alone, like before.

Mathilda:
[opens rubbing alcohol over drug stash]

L?on:
What are you doing?

Mathilda:
You said no women, no kids. Who do you think this is gonna kill, junkies and monkeys?

Mathilda:
Sleep well?

L?on:
I never really sleep well. Got one eye open, always.

Mathilda:
Yeah, I forgot. You know, I never saw someone with one eye open snore so much.

Stansfield:
I like these quiet little moments before the storm. It reminds me of Beethoven.

L?on:
[after Leon awakes suddenly from a furtive sleep] Relax. Everything's fine. Sleep well? I never really sleep. Got one eye open always.

L?on:
There was someone a long time ago. Before I came to the States. Her father didn't want her to see me. She was from a very respectable family. Mine was, you know, not so respectable. Her dad went nuts every time she'd take off to see me.

Mathilda:
But she still snuck off to see you, right?

L?on:
Right.

Mathilda:
You see, nothing can stop love, L?on.

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:
You don't like Beethoven. 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 f***ing boring. That's why I stopped! [laughs and sighs] Toss the apartment.

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 you will see that unless there is a valid excuse for prolonged absence, your tuition will be forfeit.

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

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!

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

Léon:
Cleaner.

Mathilda:
You mean you're a hit man?

Léon [reluctantly]:
Yeah.

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.

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

Mathilda:
Where to?

Léon:
Not my problem.

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

Léon:
Uh — [stares blankly at note.]

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

Mathilda:
Bonnie and Clyde didn't work alone! Thelma and Louise didn't work alone! And they were the best.

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 f***in' ears, and already you were in deep sh*t 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.

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 f*** 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.

[Mathilda and Léon complete a hit together on a man who possesses cocaine. Mathilda proceeds to the counter with the cocaine on it and picks up a flammable liquid.]

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 pours the liquid over the cocaine, lights a match, and sets it on fire.]

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

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

[Mathilda has entered Stansfield's office building by faking a food delivery; Stansfield has cornered her in a restroom.]

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:
Mathilda, I want you to set the sack on the floor. Good. [He draws a pistol.] 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 sh*t... did I do now?

Mathilda:
You killed my brother.

Norman Stansfield:
I'm sorry. [he moves in close to Mathilda.] 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.

[In the restroom, Stansfield reacts to the news of Malky's death at the hands of Leon]

Willie:
I think it was something personal.

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

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!!

[Stansfield has shot Leon in the back of the head.]

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] Sh*t.

[The building explodes, killing Leon and Stansfield.]

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!

[Mathilda breaks down in tears.]

Tony:
[softly] 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? [Starts to get impatient] 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!

[Mathilda is at the Spencer School for Girls.]

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.