Leaving Las Vegas
Best Actor Oscar winner Nicholas Cage and best Actress nominee Elisabeth Shue set the screen ablaze in this profoundly moving love story. Niminated for two additional Academy Awards- Best Director and Best Screenplay- this emotionally charged powerhouse of a afilm graced over 100 "10 Best lists"- including Roger Ebert's #1 Movie of the Year. Ben Sanderson is a career alcoholic who has hit rock bottom. Trashing all personal and professional ties to his LA existence, he sets off for the light of Las Vegas on a mission: to drink himself to death. Therer he meets Sera, a beautiful, seen-it-all hooker. From the moment Ben and Sera connect, they form a unique bond based upon unconditional acceptance and mutual respect that will change each of them forever.
Member Reviews
very moving story - movie_goer
A gloomy but touching story of loneliness, addictions and searching for love in the wrong places.
The garish bright lights of Las Vegas and backstreets make the perfect backdrop for the story. There are many memorable moments, mainly provided by Cage's drunken rampages. I could've done without Sting's faux jazz crooning that permeates the film and it did feel a little like a case of style over substance on second viewing but it has moments of genius.
This harrowing concept of vice-ridden people, clinging to each other is Elisabeth Shues' best performance since Adventures of Babysitting. Which is saying alot. Sure, Cage deserved his Oscar for his performance but Shue was overlooked (as always).Leaving Las Vegas - julianrjh
This is truly one of the great films from the 1990s - Nicolas Cage is absolutely flawless, there is literally nothing wrong with his performance. His kind of on/off manic delivery is perfectly suited to his role here, it communicates a lot about the way alcoholism works. Elisabeth Shue matches him beat for beat, giving off a very Jennifer Jason Leigh performance... and really, what better compliment can you give an actress?Nic Cage may have won the Oscar... - cathyottawa
...but this is Elizabeth Shue's movie (she was nominated, but didn't win).
She plays world weary prostitute Sera, in this tragic, difficult, poignant, unconventional love story.
Sera has given up on love, and when it finds her in the form of an alcoholic determined to drink himself to death after losing his wife, she becomes afraid - afraid to name it as love, afraid to lose it, afraid to scare it away.
Shue gives such a tender, touching performance that makes her character vulnerable, hopeful, sad, lonely and alone.
It's powerful stuff from an actress that has yet to come close to matching it, and was known mostly for "Adventures in Babysitting" and "Cocktail".
I liked Nic Cage here too, even if I found his character a little hard to believe. Watching Sera watch him self destruct - it's heartbreaking. These are two misfits, outcasts of society, that find each other, and make each other happy, if only for a while.
Member Reviews
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very moving story - movie_goer
A gloomy but touching story of loneliness, addictions and searching for love in the wrong places.
The garish bright lights of Las Vegas and backstreets make the perfect backdrop for the story. There are many memorable moments, mainly provided by Cage's ...Leaving Las Vegas - julianrjh
This is truly one of the great films from the 1990s - Nicolas Cage is absolutely flawless, there is literally nothing wrong with his performance. His kind of on/off manic delivery is perfectly suited to his role here, it communicates a lot about the way alcoholism ...Nic Cage may have won the Oscar... - cathyottawa
...but this is Elizabeth Shue's movie (she was nominated, but didn't win).
She plays world weary prostitute Sera, in this tragic, difficult, poignant, unconventional love story.
Sera has given up on love, and when it finds her in the form of ...