In this intense character study of a twenty something alcoholic and a prostitute, Nicolas Cage plays Ben Sanderson, a lonely failed screenwriter who travels from Hollywood to Las Vegas to end his life by drinking himself to death. Elisabeth Shue plays the prostitute, the only person in Vegas who shows any compassion toward Ben. It's a depressing movie.
The simple, thought provoking story gives us a journey of two lost souls who find each other, share their experiences, anguished and hurting as they are, adrift in a cold, uncaring world. We feel for these two people; we root for them. Yet, despite how physically attractive both are, their situation is dire.
It's hard to imagine a guy like Ben on such a trajectory. How can someone be so lacking both in self-knowledge and interpersonal relations; ditto Shue's character? I would have preferred that the scriptwriter make these two people a bit more complex, and allow Ben to make some attempt to change course.
As such the script is a tad manipulative. Viewers are supposed to come away with a specific message about loneliness and alcoholism. But the plot is too heavy handed, the message totally not subtle, and the overall story not realistic. Also, I did not like the Yuri subplot. In addition, the plot is repetitive. We see Ben's same behavior, in different settings, over and over and over.
Casting is acceptable; acting is quite good, especially Cage and Shue in the lead roles. High contrast lighting implies a subtle neo-noir quality. And as we would expect in a character study, there are a lot of closeup camera shots. Background music trends toward blues and what I would describe as sad jazz; music is a bit too loud in some scenes.
"Leaving Las Vegas" is a serious character study wrapped in Hollywood glitter, which only amplifies the mood of fatalism and desperation. For technical quality the film is quite good. But viewers need to understand that there is almost no humor and precious little entertainment here. The background music at the end is appropriate ... a soft, sad piano dirge.
The simple, thought provoking story gives us a journey of two lost souls who find each other, share their experiences, anguished and hurting as they are, adrift in a cold, uncaring world. We feel for these two people; we root for them. Yet, despite how physically attractive both are, their situation is dire.
It's hard to imagine a guy like Ben on such a trajectory. How can someone be so lacking both in self-knowledge and interpersonal relations; ditto Shue's character? I would have preferred that the scriptwriter make these two people a bit more complex, and allow Ben to make some attempt to change course.
As such the script is a tad manipulative. Viewers are supposed to come away with a specific message about loneliness and alcoholism. But the plot is too heavy handed, the message totally not subtle, and the overall story not realistic. Also, I did not like the Yuri subplot. In addition, the plot is repetitive. We see Ben's same behavior, in different settings, over and over and over.
Casting is acceptable; acting is quite good, especially Cage and Shue in the lead roles. High contrast lighting implies a subtle neo-noir quality. And as we would expect in a character study, there are a lot of closeup camera shots. Background music trends toward blues and what I would describe as sad jazz; music is a bit too loud in some scenes.
"Leaving Las Vegas" is a serious character study wrapped in Hollywood glitter, which only amplifies the mood of fatalism and desperation. For technical quality the film is quite good. But viewers need to understand that there is almost no humor and precious little entertainment here. The background music at the end is appropriate ... a soft, sad piano dirge.