NYLON - March 2008 - (Page 66) 2 1 3 4 IF LOOKS COULD KILL 5 6 Mathilda knows that if you want a job done well, you have to hire a professional. And in the classic French thriller Léon, or as it’s called stateside, The Professional (1994), that job happens to be murder. Natalie Portman plays Mathilda, a young girl whose family, thanks to her father’s drug-related misdeeds, has just been executed by a dirty cop (Gary Oldman) and his band of thugs. Mathilda, who escapes death because she is out grocery shopping, takes refuge in her neighbor Léon’s (Jean Reno) apartment. Once she discovers that Léon is a hitman––he calls himself a “cleaner”––Mathilda demands to learn his craft so she can exact revenge on her beloved brother’s murderer. While Léon teaches her the tricks of his deadly trade, Mathilda unwittingly shows him how to feel affection for something other than his favorite house plant and milk (they drink gallons of it over the course of the film). And she does it in style––motorcycle boots, denim cut-offs, a choker, and, of course, a killer bob. 7 still lifes: chika kobari. photo: everett collection. 9 private icon: the professional 1. shirt by original penguin, $36; 2. necklace by girlprops, $12.99; 3. shorts by element, $52; 4. jacket by wesc, $110; 5. sunglasses by linda farrow vintage, $300; 6. halter by baby phat by kimora lee simmons, $69; 7. boot by frye, $268; 8. leggings by insight, $30; 9. milk bath & shower cream by fresh, $25. 8
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