1990 Movie
Dir. Luc Besson · France, Italy · English, French
Luc Besson crafts one of film’s most iconic femme fatales in this stylish spy thriller
Before assassin protege Mathilda in Léon the Professional, humanoid Leeloo in The Fifth Element, and superpowered drug mule Lucy in her titular film, Luc Besson first discovered his love for the badass female assassin in La Femme Nikita. Scored by European synth and shot with cinematography that still looks fresh today, the action thriller delivers pure adrenaline– the guns, the kills, and the drama of the hidden life– but the stylish spy film transcends the genre through the Pygmalion-esque transformation of Nikita’s femininity, a faux identity forged and crafted in the service of the government machine, yet both attracts the idea of and clashes with the want for genuine freedom and a good, normal life. It’s because of these existential ideas that La Femme Nikita became one of the most iconic femme fatales of the 20th century.
A beautiful felon, sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a policeman, is given a second chance – as a secret political assassin controlled by the government.
After being sentenced to life, teenage felon Nikita is granted a new opportunity when the government fakes her death and offers to train her to become a professional assassin.
Nikita arguably wouldn’t feel so captivating if it wasn’t for Anne Parillaud. Her transformation from nihilistic teen to capable woman is aptly captured through movement and physicality, and she just has the charisma that keeps your eyes (and the camera) on her.
It’s a little bit funny how Besson made a movie so iconic, that twenty years later, he ends up actually copying himself.
Golden Globes
1 nom
Nat. Board of Review
1 win
César Awards
1 win · 8 noms
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
For a split second, I thought it was Cobie Smulders! https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1130627/?ref_=tt_ov_st