LEAVING LAS VEGAS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
LEAVING LAS VEGAS is a romantic tragedy about a hooker and a happy alcoholic who wants to die by drinking. Stop right now. You have already formed the wrong conclusions about this show. It is not one of those gritty, depressing, isn't life awful movies like IRONWEED or KIDS. Nor is it a message movie filled with hopes of moral redemption like WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN, but it certainly has a message. This is a unique movie about fulfillment through love - the love of a man, a woman, and a bottle. It also has two of the best acting performances of the year.
As the movie opens, Ben (Nicolas Cage) is dancing with joy in a liquor store as he is doing one of his favorite things - filling a shopping cart full of hard liquor so he can drink himself silly. He has a life threatening problem with drinking. His hands shake so bad sometimes he can not sign checks until he goes to a bar for his morning gin and tonics. He wakes early one morning in front of the refrigerator with the door open and his last drink still beside him. When he speaks his speech gets slurred. Not surprising, he soon looses his job for drunkenness, but he views this happening fortuitously since it means he can take his overly generous severance pay and go to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. He takes his bottles along and chugalugs them as he drives.
When he arrives he makes his cheap motel room a shrine to booze. He has bottle after bottle in neat rows. Although the love of his life is drinking, he meets someone else. She is a hooker, Sera (Elisabeth Shue from the excellent but obscure movie ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING), with whom he wants to hang out. He pays her $500 to stay with him to talk and drink. He tells her, "I came her to drink myself to death." "How long will it take you" she asks. He quickly replies, "I'd say about 3-4 weeks." He is not kidding, and he is very happy about it.
She falls instantly in love with him. He tells her, "You can never ask me to stop drinking. Do you understand?" To which she quickly retorts, "I understand." He loves drinking and has no remorse. He tells her, "I am a drunk, and you're a hooker. I am a person who is totally at ease with this." Whenever he gets really sick, he solves his problem by drinking even more.
She takes care of him, but does not attempt to change him. Rather she helps him get all he wants to feed his addiction. She has had no meaning in her life before this. Her pimp, Yuri (Julian Sands), treats badly, but she thinks Ben needs her and after liquor, she is the only important thing in his life. Words do not adequately describe the happiness they both have during this brief time they have together. They live every second to the fullest. Think of this as a movie of what someone might like to do if they knew they were going to die in less than a month. This is not to say that Ben and Sera have it easy. Prostitution and alcoholism are both shown to be dangerous activities in ways you may not have considered.
Mike Figgis does the direction, script, and (dreamy jazz) music. All are near perfection. The characters he creates are originals and ones that are totally believable. Figgis has Shue being interviewed periodically as if she is speaking to an off camera therapist. He uses this as a narrative glue to hold the picture together, and it works well.
The chemistry between the leads is great - she with him and he with booze although he does like being with her as well. I had no idea what a great actress Shue is. I have never been very fond of Cage's acting. Too often I have found it over the top and unrealistic. But here, I could not imagine any actor could have done a better job with this role. I hope they both get awards. They have many great scenes together, but I guess my favorite is the one of them by the pool in the motel in the desert.
The cinematography by Declan Quinn is wonderful. Watch especially the glitter of the neon lights of Vegas at night and of the desert sunsets as backdrops for the hooking and the drinking. The colors have a rich and yet surreal feel. The camera angles, the costumes (Laura Goldsmith) and the make-up (Kathryn Bihr) help create Sera into a lovely person but yet never hid the garishness of how she makes her living. Shue's eye's and smile is what you see no matter how short her miniskirt. She has an amazing presence in the film. It would have been easy to have her role being secondary, but her acting is right on par with Cage's.
This is a scary show at times. You care deeply about these poor souls so when Ben gets a bad case of the shakes, it makes you want to cry. Editor John Smith has just the right sense of when to cut between happiness and sorrow.
LEAVING LAS VEGAS runs a fast 1:50. It is correctly rated R for extreme alcohol abuse plus sex, nudity, and violence. I would not let teenagers go to this movie unless their parents go with them and discuss it afterwards. It is too easy for young minds to misconstrue the isn't drinking fun subtext. This is an anti-alcoholism movie, but it takes maturity to realize it properly. I strongly recommend this marvelous picture and amazing acting, and I give it *** 1/2.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: January 15, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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