Leaving Las Vegas

With LEAVING LAS VEGAS, director Mike Figgis spun critical gold out of what would appear to be a maudlin and hackneyed premise--a down-and-out drunk meets a hooker with a heart of gold. The reason for the film's success lies partly in its refusal to moralize, but mostly it is the strong performances of Nicholas Cage and Elisabeth Shue that make the story believable and poignant. Ben Sanderson (Cage) is a Hollywood screenwriter who has become an alcoholic. After being fired, he takes his severance pay to Las Vegas, where he plans to drink himself to death. There he meets Sera (Shue), a streetwise prostitute who responds both to Ben's wild antics and to his absolute gentleness. What Sera needs most is to be needed, and Ben needs her a lot. Figgis uses his whole bag of tricks--Sera talks to the camera, the exteriors are shot in grainy 16mm--but finally it is the perfectly-conceived relationship between these two wounded people that drew the rave reviews. The film was based on a novel by John O'Brien.

Cast:

Year - Presenter		Award Category		Result		Name
1995 - Academy Awards		Best Actor		Winner		Nicolas Cage

"...A uniquely hypnotic and haunting love story sparked by Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue at their career best..." -- Peter Travers , (Rolling Stone)

"...[Shue holds] her own against Cage, matching him in pain and desolation if not in intensity..." -- Philip Kemp , (Sight and Sound)

"...Haunting....[Shue and Cage] are excellent..." -- 3 out of 4 stars -- Mike Clark , (USA Today)

"...[Cage's Academy] award was earned ten times over..." -- Glenn Kenny , (Entertainment Weekly)

"...Unrelenting in its vision, the artistic tour de force by director Mike Figgis is a descent into the abyss....Cage is in top form....Shue is equally skillful..." -- Leonard Klady , (Variety)

"...Beautifully put together, sensitively acted by Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue, directed by Mike Figgis with assurance and style and making exceptional use of its musical score....So marvelously put together it's sure to have an effect..." -- Kenneth Turan , (Los Angeles Times)

"...LEAVING LAS VEGAS is one of the best films of the year....That such a film gets made is a miracle....It is a pure, grand gesture..." -- Roger Ebert , (Chicago Sun-Times)

"Mike Figgis' superb drama features the town as a corrosive backdrop to Nicolas Cage's self-destructive alcoholism." -- Uncut Staff , (Uncut)

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