‘The Professional’
Revisiting The Professional, director Luc Besson’s whackadoo action/romance movie from 1994, made me remember that Gary Oldman —who is practically cuddly now, thanks to his work as Commissioner Gordon in Chris Nolan’s Batman trilogy— was once the most kinetic, batshit crazy on-screen presence in the entire film industry. Also worth noting: this movie, which features the violent murder of a 4-year-old and a romance between a pre-teen Natalie Portman and a borderline retarded Italian hit man 34 years her senior (Jean Reno), could NEVER get made today.