Review of Leaving Las Vegas (1995) by Ahmed " — 28 Mar 2010

Surely Cage's finest moment. He plays Ben, an alcoholic unashamedly devoted to any kind of alcohol he can lay his hands on, determined to purposefully drink himself to death, in style. Elisabeth Shue plays Sera, who falls in love with him, so much so that she will do anything to help him be happy, and that involves helping him reach his goal.

It's a beautiful love story with pain and addiction as a backdrop. It's a relief that Cage won the Best Actor oscar for this remarkable performance. The scene in at the desert motel is electrifying, as Figgis takes us from the erotic to the comic to the tragic in minutes.

Still puzzling over why it took me 15 years to get around to watching this...