Today’s quick review: Leaving Las Vegas. Fired from his job in Hollywood because of his alcohol problem, Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage) heads to Las Vegas to drink away the last of his savings. There he hits it off with Sera (Elisabeth Shue), a prostitute who’s fallen on hard times, and the two strike up an unusual relationship. But as Ben’s drinking gets worse, Sera must decide whether to try to change him for his own good or accept him for who he is.
Leaving Las Vegas is a romantic drama about a relationship between a desperate alcoholic and the one woman who understands him. Leaving Las Vegas features a unique premise, a pair of talented leads, and an oddly moving story. In spite of its mature content and tragic tone, the film manages to be uplifting. The film as a whole has a heavy tone and is laced with tragedy, but its individual moments are poignant and deceptively meaningful.
Leaving Las Vegas invests almost all of its run time into Ben and Sera, painting detailed pictures of both characters. Ben makes for an amiable drunk, albeit one prone to strange behavior and fits of violence. His determination to see his alcoholism through to the end gives him an odd sort of nobility. His relationship with Sera adds a happy flourish to what would otherwise be a gloomy end to his story, a ray of light through his darkness.
For her part, Sera has both a more flexible character and a rougher choice to face. Her life has plenty of hardship on its own, thanks to an abusive pimp, seedy clientele, and the difficulty of living on her own in Las Vegas. And though she finds a kindred spirit in Ben, his drinking problem puts a cap on their happiness. In trying to preserve their relationship, Sera takes on his burdens as well as her own and finds they may be too much to bear.
Still, in spite of its richly drawn characters, Leaving Las Vegas is not for the faint of heart. Apart from the drinking and the sloppy behavior that goes with it, Leaving Las Vegas includes prolific sex, a smattering of violence, and frank depictions of the seamier side of life as a prostitute. Its mature content fits into the film’s broader themes, giving it a concrete purpose, but it does impose a steep barrier to entry for more sensitive viewers.
Try Leaving Las Vegas when you’re in the mood for a character-driven drama that’s both depressing and uplifting. The movie pulls off the difficult trick of getting the viewer to invest in two characters who seem to be heading for disaster. Those looking for a movie with more of a plot will want to look elsewhere, as will those who prefer cleaner movies or more heroic protagonists. But for fans of the right kind of drama, the movie is a solid pick.
For more misbehavior from Nicolas Cage, try Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. For a less poetic tale of self-destruction, try The Gambler. For a more upbeat, comedic one, try The Wolf of Wall Street. For a farther-reaching story that touches on similar themes, try The Hustler.
7.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it the same for effective drama and oddly sympathetic characters.