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Nicolas Cage movies are some of my favorite guilty pleasures. That’s not because Cage gives convincing performances in brilliant films but because his spastic, over-the-top acting is just plain entertaining. Either he’s completely indiscriminative in his choice of films or he’s freely embracing his own cheesiness, resulting in movies like The Wicker Man, Bangkok Dangerous, and Season of the Witch. Sometimes, though, he stumbles into the perfect role—the role that fits his erratic behavior so perfectly that it comes across as pure brilliance, as it does in 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas.
While most movies about a character’s downfall tend to tell the story from the beginning, Leaving Las Vegas starts in the middle and focuses on the end. When the film opens, Ben Sanderson (Cage) is already well into his downward spiral. A raging alcoholic, Ben no longer remembers whether he started drinking because his wife left him or his wife left him because he started drinking. Either way, though, his life has become a complete mess—a blur of cocktails and cheap prostitutes.
When Ben finally hits rock bottom and loses his job in Hollywood, he decides to move to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. He burns his belongings, cashes his last paycheck, and checks into a cheap motel, ready to commence his month-long suicide. Though he’s carefully budgeted his demise, he decides to splurge on a little bit of company—and that’s how he meets Sera (Elizabeth Shue), a lonely prostitute who decides to let him into both her life and her home.
Leaving Las Vegas isn’t the kind of movie that you pull off the shelf and watch on a laid-back Saturday night with your friends. It’s heavy and depressing—and, in the end, it will most likely leave you feeling like you could use a drink. The entire film, after all, is about loneliness and desperation. Ben’s loneliness and desperation drive him to drink more and more—and that eventually leads to his decision to drink himself into oblivion. His loneliness and desperation bring him to Vegas—and to Sera. And Sera’s own loneliness and desperation cause her to connect with her alcoholic client and to open herself up to caring for him. And, well, it’s pretty much all downhill from there.
Still, despite the dismal circumstances, Leaving Las Vegas also has its moments of beauty. The characters have so much depth—much more than the same old Hollywood clichés. Sera isn’t just another hooker with a heart of gold; Ben isn’t just another drunk. They have their pasts, their flaws, their pain—all of which comes through in the film.
Cage’s Oscar-winning performance certainly stands out. It’s the perfect fit for an enjoyably unpredictable star. Like Cage himself, Ben is all over the board. You never know what he’ll do next—whether he’ll quietly pass out or come out fighting. His gradual collapse is painful to witness, yet this tragic character has his sweet, charming moments that keep the audience (like Sera) from giving up and walking away.
Despite Cage’s attention-grabbing performance, though, Leaving Las Vegas would be nothing without Shue’s Sera. While Ben is absorbed in his own self-destruction, Sera has a fascinating story of her own—a story of insecurity and abuse, which she reveals through occasional sessions with a faceless therapist. She’s the character that you want to know more about—that you truly come to care about.
Meanwhile, the relationship between the two characters may be completely unconventional (not to mention destructive), but it’s also moving—and honest. Despite their flaws and the obstacles in their way, the two characters are drawn together in a strange relationship that’s built not just on loneliness and desperation but also on acceptance. Sera accepts that Ben is an alcoholic, and she tries to help him and care for him—not stop him. Ben accepts that Sera is a prostitute—and he puts no pressure on their relationship.
In the end, though, Leaving Las Vegas is anything but an uplifting film—but it’s a story that’s thoughtfully and beautifully told, with a memorable jazz soundtrack and characters that you won’t soon forget. It may not be the perfect pick for a casual movie night, but it’s definitely worth seeing.
Blu-ray Review:
The Blu-ray release of Leaving Las Vegas is surprisingly bare-bones: no commentary, no making-of feature, no behind-the-scenes footage. The disc includes just one version of the film: the uncut, unrated version—which (as far as I can tell) adds just one minute to the film’s total runtime.
