Le Femme Nikita” Luc Besson 1990
Nikita is the 1990 French action thriller from director Luc Besson. “Nikita” is a slick combination of French film aesthetic mixed in with the action of a Hollywood summer blockbuster. Director Luc Besson known for such previous works such as the science-fiction film "Le Dernier Combat" which gave way to his stylized works of "Subway" and "The Big Blue". "La Femme Nikita" combines hip violence, with a contemporary story of power and love.
The film it begins as Nikita Taylor who is a teenage drug addict who participates in a robbery of a pharmacy owned the parents of a fellow junkie. The robbery goes bad and Nikitia, ruthlessly shoots a policeman. Nikita is arrested, tried, convicted of murder, and imprisoned for life, with parole considered after thirty years. She is then taken to jail and given a drug to simulate the death sentence. As she awakes she is met by a man who is recruiting her for the DGSE. Her trainer Amande transforms her from a degenerate drug addict to an efficient killer and fem me fatal; Amande was also rescued and recruited by the DGSE. Nikita is now very eqipt mentally and physically to her new job. She is also very attractive and seducing in her new role. Nikita is regularly used fore missions and contract killings by the department. She is getting tired of her life as a killer and seems to want more out of life. Nikita is constantly emotionally torn .Her assassin's career continues well, until an embassy document-theft goes horribly wrong, requiring the ruthless participation of 'Victor: The Cleaner' in destroying the mission's evidence and all corpses. The Cleaner is wounded and dies.Nikita abandons the Agency, the city of Paris, and her supermarket cashier boyfriend.
Nikita has a very true to life realistic tone throughout the entire film. The violence is hard and very severe. Although at some points the action are stylized such as the gun fight in the kitchen I was at the edge of my seat and really got into it and lost myself in the narrative. I found myself asking the questions, what goes through a contract killer’s mind? Do they have any empathy towards others? I felt Anne Parlliand really nailed this part because even asking these questions I felt like she was a very sympathetic and honorable protagonist. She couldn’t escape the life that she had gotten herself into. She was exceptional marksman and assassin, but she wanted nothing more than to lead a normal life. Even on her vacation to Venice with her boyfriend she is still assessable to the DGSE. I loved this scene in particular, because Nikita was trying to balance her fake life and romance with her boyfriend with her real life as a femme fatal. It make for and interesting and suspenseful scene with humorous undertones.
Anne Parilland as Nikitia really brought out every emotion as the femme fatal. I felt her performance was very powerful and she deserves every accolade that comes with it. Parilland brings a sense of empathy and caring to the character. I found myself feeling for her situation. This is an interesting point in itself. You feel a certain connection to a character who is doing the worst things that man could do, in her case murder for hire as well as in the beginning of the film being a drug addict who was caught robbing a store. She blows a cops head off after he had been pleading with her to let him go , without a second thought .It reminds me of something that Martin Scorsese said about the character of Tommy Desimone played by Joe Pesci in 1990 film Goodfellas. He found it interesting that after all the killings and bad things this guy did throughout the film, the audience still was connected to him and didn’t want to see him get hurt. I feel that Parilland had this same kind of effect on the audience. In reality she is a psychotic murdering woman and some how you find yourself feeling for her. The longer you get to know Nikita you find out how intelligent, feminine and caring she is even though she is committing such atrocious acts. At some point we forget that she murdered the cop in cold blood at the beginning of the film.
I feel this movie set in motion sexy tough women dominating in action films, which we see evidence of today. I kept thinking of films such as Kill Bill and Death Proof by direction Quentin Tarrentino . The character of The Bride in The Kill Bill series has a few resemblances to the character of Nikita. She was tough , sexy and still had a very admirable moral compass. Luc Besson I feel used this model In the Fifth Element with Mila Jovovich who’s character is very commanding as well as sexy and compassionate.
Luc Besson's initial inspiration of this story arc I really found interesting. It is the story of the murderer given a second chance at life – by being trained to be an assassin. It’s a very ironic choice and makes for an intriguing and action –packed film.I really enjoyed the stylized look of this film as well . It is described as the style of Cinema du Look which was a French film movement typified by highly stylized visuals in which the look was more important than the plot or realism. Directors such as Jean-Jacques Beineix (Diva, Betty Blue), and Leos Carax (Les Amants du Pont-Neuf) exemplified the scene.
Luc Besson's films certainly fit the glove of Cinema du Look, while Nikita is a stylized film it does incorporate an intricately plotted story arc, and a depth of feeling that goes far beyond the surface. It maintains drama and tension throughout and can even boast a delectable cameo appearance from the darling of French cinema Jeanne Moreau.
I particularly loved the first robbery scene it really set the tone for the film and was one of the greatest introductions of a protagonist I’ve seen in a while. It punches the audience right in the face and demands your attention. After this scene I really wanted to know who this girl was, her experiences, her thoughts and what she would do next. Anne Parilland as Nikitia was the best part of the film with her charming but deadly performance.
