IMDb plot summary: Ben Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
Directed by Mike Figgis. Starring Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, and Julian Sands.
Leaving Las Vegas stars Nicholas Cage as an alcoholic who has entirely given up on life and decides to go to Las Vegas to drink himself to death, and Elisabeth Shue as the prostitute who forms an unusual bond with him and is willing to stay by his side as he slowly kills himself with his addiction. There is somehow simultaneously a hopefulness and a hopelessness in this movie, and the two battle it out from scene to scene. It certainly doesn't shy away from the more upsetting aspects of addiction, as it shows Shue having to deal with behavioral issues and bodily fluids everywhere, as well as having to explain to the people around her who this person is and why she's allowing him to stay in her life. But the strong sense of connection and compassion that the two have for each other is very compelling. It would almost be called inspirational if the story as a whole wasn't so depressing. This kind of movie could easily be campier and more dramatic, but it really lands in discovering its characters and that's where it excels the most. It's one of those films that's hard to imagine wanting to rewatch ever, but it certainly had a strong impact on me this one time.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Leaving Las Vegas > Bad Education
Leaving Las Vegas < Elf
Leaving Las Vegas > Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Leaving Las Vegas > We're No Angels (1955)
Leaving Las Vegas > The Secret Garden (1987)
Leaving Las Vegas > Beyond the Sea
Leaving Las Vegas > Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken
Leaving Las Vegas < The Menu
Leaving Las Vegas > A Room With a View
Leaving Las Vegas > The Palm Beach Story
Leaving Las Vegas < Tower
Final spot: #965 out of 3788, or 75%.
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