Review of Leaving Las Vegas (1995) by Lucas Y — 13 Nov 2008

Ben Sanderson: "I'll tell you, right now... I'm in love with you. But, be that as it may, I am not here to force my twisted soul into your life.".

Mike Figgis' grim drama documents a romantic triangle of sorts involving prostitute Sera (Elisabeth Shue), failed Hollywood screenwriter Ben (Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage), and the constant flow of booze which he loves more dearly than life itself. Arriving in Las Vegas with the intention of drinking himself to death, Ben meets Sera, and they gradually begin falling for one another. From the outset, however, Ben warns Sera that no matter what, she can never ask him to quit drinking, a condition to which she grudgingly agrees. A darkly comic tragedy, Leaving Las Vegas charts the brief romantic convergence of two desperately needy people who together find a brief flicker of happiness.

Review.

This movie is not my favorite love story, but nonetheless it's a good one. It is anything but a traditional story, but I think that it does a much better job of capturing the characters true emotions, than almost any romantic movie out there today. Both Shue and Cage come from different walks of life, and each have their own emotional problems. This makes it entertaining as a couple because they are essentially dysfunctional, but still manage to maintain a relationship. The performance by Cage is awesome, and Shue does a great job as well. Overall this movie is a rather dark love story with great acting and a good plot. My only complaints over the movie is that there are few minor characters and throughout the movie the volume is low and some dialog is hard to hear, also in many scenes the camera angle makes it hard to see what exactly is happening.