La Femme Nikita (1990)

Convicted felon Nikita, instead of going to jail, is given a new identity and trained, stylishly, as a top secret spy/assassin.

Director:

Luc Besson

Writer:

Luc Besson

Stars:

Anne Parillaud, Marc Duret, Patrick Fontana

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anne Parillaud	...	Nikita / Marie Clément
Marc Duret	...	Rico
Patrick Fontana	...	Coyotte
Alain Lathière	...	Zap
Laura Chéron	...	La punk
Jacques Boudet	...	Le pharmacien
Helene Aligier	...	La pharmacienne
Pierre-Alain de Garrigues	...	Flic pharmacie
Patrick Pérez	...	Flic pharmacie (as Patrick Perez)
Bruno Randon	...	Flic pharmacie
Vincent Skimenti	...	Flic pharmacie
Roland Blanche	...	Flic interrogatoire
Joseph Teruel	...	Stagiaire flic
Jacques Disses	...	Avocat
Stéphane Fey	...	Président tribunal (as Stephane Fey)

Storyline

Nikita est très jeune, elle a vingt ans, mais elle a emprunté une mauvaise voie. Pendant un hold-up avec sa bande, elle tue un policier et est condamnée à la prison à vie. Les services secrets, par contre, lui offrent une voie de sortie : devenir un agent spécial, prêt à tout, à leur service. Nikita accepte et commence ainsi un apprentissage très dur qui concerne non seulement les différents modes de tuer, de prendre la fuite ou de faire face à des situations imprévues, mais aussi la manière de se comporter en femme qui a de la classe, capable de se conduire avec aisance dans tous les milieux. Sous la conduite de Bob, Nikita arrive à freiner son caractère rebelle et à surmonter la terrible épreuve finale. Elle semble être devenue une personne différente et tombe amoureuse. Mais faut-il faire confiance aux services secrets ?

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Plot Keywords:

female assassin | hidden door | undercover agent | held at gunpoint | lethal injection | 

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Taglines:

The Hit of Paris and London Has Come to America. [US Poster]

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French Italian English

Release Date:

April 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

La Femme Nikita

Filming Locations:

Rue Louis Codet, Paris 7, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 50,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$5,017,971

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, Les Films du Loup, Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Luc Besson had Anne Parillaud train extensively with guns so that she would be completely at ease with them. Parillaud took to practicing loading and unloading a fake gun in her car which led to her being pulled over by the police and having their guns drawn on her in traffic one day as they thought her weapon was real.

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Goofs

When Nikita ambushes Bob with the metal chair, Bob anticipates the stunt by bracing himself, looking away, and closing his eyes before the chair hits him.

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Quotes

Marco: You know this could dangerous.
Nikita: What's the worst that could happen?
Marco: Leftovers?

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Alternate Versions

The English dubbed version featured John Tremaine as the voice of Tchéky Karyo's character Bob.

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Connections

Referenced in Chuck: Chuck Versus the Final Exam (2010)

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Soundtracks

LA PETITE MUSIQUE DE NUIT
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (as MOZART)
Performed by Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Conducted by Raymond Leppard
Courtesy of Erato

User Reviews

Brilliant, tense and artful

Anne Parillaud is phenomenal as a terrifyingly vulnerable, beautiful and human young anti-hero with an incredible talent for violence. A drug-addict murderous teen is given a second chance by a government agency looking to exploit her penchant for conscience-less killing. Mentored by a man whose compassion for her is only matched by his ambition and Machiavellian sadism, Nikita ventures on a roller-coaster ride leading a double-life as assassin and clean-living young woman in love. Her passionate affair with Marco and the clarity of her un-drugged consciousness, combine to promote the development of a conscience - a dangerous thing in her line of work. Nikita is, nevertheless, a victim of her circumstances, and like the rest of the characters on both sides, seems stuck in a very bad situation. In addition to the artistry with which this story is told, this film has a very nihilistic sense of justice and not-so-subtly points out the fact that state authorized murder is still murder.

Jean Reno fans will enjoy his brief typecast cameo as "the cleaner".

This is one of the best, if not the best, of Besson's films. It is extremely well paced, starkly and beautifully shot, and features some of the best acting and writing of the entire action genre. The script is just a little better in French than English. Nikita does not have the feel of an action film, but rather, feels like a fatalistic drama riddled with almost continuous tragedy and heartbreak, and spiced with just a tad of hope. Parillaud's multi-layered and complex construction of her character is so mesmerizing that it is frankly difficult to think of anything else while attempting to reflect on this film.