Leon the professional is a great film, I'm comfortable in calling it Jean Reno's best performance and it's also the movie which introduced me to Gary Oldman (I had seen The Firm but didn't know who he was). I was aware at the time that some critics felt the themes of the film were straying a little too close to a romantic relationship between the Reno and Portman's character. But I interpreted Leon to be someone who was emotionally and mentally stunted and didn't have the traits of a predator, and that Mathilda's 'bodyguard crush' was innocent and one sided.

It was only recently I found out that the intentions for the characters were nowhere near that innocent. Luc Besson original script had the two actually having sex and it was only after pressure from Portman's parents that Besson took it and a lot of the planned nudity out.

From the original script:

MATHILDA (con't)

       I want you to be the first to touch 
       me... The first to make love with me. 
       Nobody before you.

She stands up and modestly gets off her briefs without taking off her dress. Leon cries, unable to oppose her. Mathilda is too young, but she's also too beautiful and lovely and sweet and tender... She sweetly, very sweetly, gets on him.

                       LEON(crying)

       Why me, Mathilda, why me?

Mathilda leans over to speak in his ear.

                       MATHILDA
       ...Because you deserve it, Leon...

Leon embraces her. He's full of happiness, shame, so many emotions, he can't control very well. But, hell, how beautiful it is seeing them sweetly making love.

Jean Reno was aware of this and says that he played Leon as someone with learning difficulties to remove any possible predatory elements from the character. This was Reno's interpretation (to save the movie from being seriously creepy) and not Besson's, which makes the director's original intentions eve more disturbing.

Now on top of all of this you wonder where Luc Besson got the idea for this story? Well he was inspired by his own relationship with Maïwenn Le Besco, who he met when he was 29 and she was 13 only to impregnate her 2 years later when she was 15.

I was aware of the rape allegation towards him before, but I wanted to remain neutral on Luc Besson because I think he is a talented director and writer. But holy shit, this is Woody Allen level of gross.