Review of Leaving Las Vegas (1995) by Thomas C — 09 Jun 2009

The two main characters in this are well observed. The catatonic Ben is completely believable as a broken alcoholic on a self-destructive mission, and Sera is a prostitute who fears being alone. It's got some great scenes of the anguish that a man can cause a woman, like when Sera asks Ben to put her earring in at a cafe and, as he is by her ear, he says how the spike will prick her when her client pushes her head into the pillow. She shows how much this hurts her, but can't get angry at Ben because it's the drink talking. The regret that Ben feels is evident when he walks away realising, in a rare moment of clarity, that he broke her faith in him.

The best scenes are when Sera tries to rehabilitate Ben by telling him to act on his desire rather than imagine what her clients feel. I suppose that one message of this film is that no one can save you if you don't want to save yourself. I liked the relationship in this film, but the story wasn't what I go for. The performances were even better in that context.