La Femme Nikita Movie Review 1991

Stylish French noir version of Pygmalion. Having killed a cop during a drugstore theft gone awry, young French sociopath Nikita (Parillaud) is reprieved from a death sentence in order to enroll in a government finishing school, of sorts. Trained in etiquette (by Moreau) and assasination (by Karyo), she's released after three years, and starts a new life with a new beau (Anglade), all the while carrying out agency-mandated assassinations. Parillaud is excellent as the once-amoral street urchin transformed into a woman of depth and sensitivity--a bitterly ironic moral evolution for a contract killer. Remade as "Point of No Return."

Distribution

Baker & Taylor Inc., 2709 Water Ridge Pkwy., Ste. 500, Charlotte, NC 28217, Phone: (704)357-3500, Toll-free: 800-775-1800, Email: btinfo@btol.com, URL: http://www.btol.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 117 minutes.
Originally from French.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Role Reversal, Hit Men/Women, Assassination, Office Surprise, Wonder Women

Screenplay

Luc Besson

Cast

Anne Parillaud, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Tcheky Karyo, Jeanne Moreau, Jean Reno, Jean Bouise

Cinematography

Thierry Arbogast

Director

Luc Besson

Music

Eric Serra

Producer

Samuel Goldwyn Company

Awards

Cesar 1991: Actress (Parillaud).