Director: Mike Figgis
Running time: 110 minutes
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands.
Cameos: R. Lee Ermey, Richard Lewis, Steven Weber, Ed Lauter, Mariska Hargitay, Laurie Metcalf, Lou Rawls.

There is no question that "Leaving Las Vegas" is a very good film. Most reviewers put it high in their top ten list for 1995. It is not, however, a very enjoyable film. It is also a little slow in parts; I found myself looking at my watch several times during the film. It is nice, however, to see that films like this can get made. Hollywood happy endings are a dime a dozen, so it’s refreshing to see a movie dare to say that love does not conquer all, that some problems don’t have a neat solution.

The plot is very simple: Ben (Nicolas Cage) goes to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. He meets a hooker, Sera (Elisabeth Shue), and they fall in love. It’s a story that needs to be set in Las Vegas—I can think of no other setting that would capture the sense of hopelessness this film conveys.

This film makes a case for having the director score the film, as well. Figgis does a masterful job of matching the music we hear with the images we’re seeing.

While making us aware of the horrors of being an alcoholic, there is also an element of attractiveness about the idea of doing what Cage has chosen for his fate. He casts away his possessions—collecting and burning them—and goes on a journey of cleansing himself—only his trip is not one of self discovery, but of self-destruction.

The lead performances are, in a word, brilliant. Both Shue and Cage are well-deserving of their Oscar nominations. Cage brings across his character’s single-minded purpose of drinking himself to death. And Shue, in spite of her beautiful leading-lady looks, captures the sleaziness and broken-toy quality of a Las Vegas prostitute.

The dialogue is also very good. The art is certainly visible on the screen, yet it still seems that nothing is really happening. Scenes of Cage’s self-destructive binges run together. The leads’ hopeless love for each other comes across early, and then not much really happens.