Leaving Las Vegas

Mike Figgis, USA 1995, 112 minutes

Alcohol plays a large part of most students lives. Here then is a study of how it can affect the drinker and the people he meets.

Nic Cage is Ben, a failed screenwriter rejected by his friends and fired from his job because of his drinking problem. Leaving his life behind, he sets off for Vegas to drink himself to death. There he meets Sera (Elisabeth Shue) a self-assured young hooker running from her vicious pimp. There is a mutual attraction between the two society outcasts and a growing bond is formed. Ben moves in with Sera on the condition that she never asks him to stop drinking. But as Ben deteriorates, Sera breaks her promise. Apart and alone, both their lives quickly go downhill.

Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by John O'Brien (who commited suicide shortly before production began), Mike Figgis's film is a masterpiece of human emotion. Shot in gritty 16mm, it captures an alternative Vegas not promoted in the tourist brochures.

Figgis' vision is beautifully complemented by his own soundtrack, a moody blues and jazz set which reflects on the action on screen. Shue turns in a heart-tugging performance and there are notable cameos by some well known faces. Particular mention must go to Cage's Oscar-winning portrayal, a meticulous study of a man with purpose thwarted by a weakness (or perhaps strength) of character.

"A fantastically dark examination of human desperation ****" - Empire

Leaving Las Vegas is not your ordinary Las Vegas movie. In following the life of a confirmed alcoholic, it takes a trip into the underside of the glitzy, glamourous town. Not only do we see the damage that can be caused by Ben's (Nicolas Cage) addiction to the booze but, perhaps, in his determinism, a glimmer of whatever spark may still remain in the empty husks of people like him.

Mike Figgis, the acclaimed director of not-quite-mainstream films such as the recent The Browning Version and Liebestraum, takes great pains in his screenplay to remain faithful in spirit to the original semi-autobiographical novel by John O'Brien, who committed suicide shortly before filming begandrunk but rather a man whose problem escalates out of control, and out of his hands, leading him to lose almost everything. Then, when he finds someone to believe in, he cannot help betraying her trust and thus loses her. Cage's performance won him the Oscar and emphasises his skills as a slightly off-beat leading man. In spite of his alcoholic haze and obvious fragility, Ben is clear about what he has become and what will happen to him if he continues on his chosen course. Yet he continues along it nevertheless, destroying all traces of his previous life in the process, intent on drinking himself into oblivion.

His only saviour is Sera (Elisabeth Shue) whom he nearly runs over but soon becomes attracted to in a strange relationship that perhaps gives as much to Sera as it does to Ben. For Sera is also lonely, and though she is as strong willed and stubborn as Ben it is not really how she wants to live her life. She has the nice apartment and the clothes but she does not have the self-respect she seeks and this leads her into trouble. Although she has made a promise to Ben to never question his drinking, as his condition gets worse, she cannot bear to see him drift away from her. She realises that other people will never look upon herself or Ben favourably and when they break apart, she realises that Ben is, in his own way, the only person who genuinely likes her and she, in turn him.

Mike Figgis wanted this film to be more than just a love story, but a story of acceptance. Rejected by the world they live in, Ben and Sera accept their lot in life and through their love, accept each other. No judgement is passed. ironically, theirs is an ideal love shared by two people on whom society has given up. Ben is gentle and thoughtful in spite of his terrible addiction and these are the qualities that Sera cherishes. Figgis went to painstaking lengths to give leaving Las Vegas a feel of gritty realism. The camera was hand-held for some scenes for a documentary effect, while in others the dialogue was ad-libbed. The story is interspersed with Sera's memories of her time with Ben as she sits and talks to some unknown person, a psychiatrist maybe or perhaps even Figgis, as the documentary maker, himself. It is clear in these sees how much she has been affected by Ben and this helps us, the audience, to relate to Ben, for a loveless character is not really a character at all.

Sera is the backbone of this film, the support for Ben, and our main window into Ben's soul. Yet behind her apparently strong exterior facade there lies the vulnerable person inside. Ben sees this, and, both on film and on set, Sera/Shue and Ben/Cage come to trust each other. Shue had previously been best known for playing naive, pretty girlfriends (see the Karate Kid, Cocktail) and this role came at a point when she was despairing of getting a different role. To say this film transforms her as an actress would be quite truthful for we see sides of Shue that have previously never been revealed: the exhibitionist, the understanding, and the despair. One of the most shocking scenes in the film, when she is raped by three college boys when she lets down her guard is deeply disturbing to the audience, both on the emotional and physical level. We are unable to stop the event happening, we cringe away helpless, just as Sera helpless to stop what is happening to her. In a way we are like Ben at this point, we want to help, but are unable because we are nothing more than spectators.

Figgis' reputation as a director allowed him to gather together an impressive cast and crew. In addition to this, Vivienne Westwood provided much of Shue's wardrobe. Unfortunately, this is one of the more unbelievable aspects of the film, and one of its only failings; what prostitute is going to wear expensive designer outfits? Figgis' reputation as a musician (he started off in rock and roll including playing in a band with Bryan Ferry) persuaded his friend Sting to lend his name and voice to the soundtrack, composed by Figgis himself. It is a beautiful creation, moody and emotional, mirroring Sera and Ben's feelings onscreen. There are a large number of well-known faces and names in the film: Valeria Golino, Carey Lowell, Laurie Metcalf, Julian Lennon, Lou Rawls and even Figgis himself. All of these are testament to the relationship Figgis has built up between himself and the people he works with, the sign of a truly great director. In Leaving Las Vegas, Figgis has yet again signalled to the world, and perhaps Hollywood in particular, that he can make his own films his own way and not only are people willing to work with him, but people are willing to watch the film.

Programme note By Neil Chue Hong
Placed online 1/2/97

Review by Neil Chue Hong
Taken from EUFS Programme 1996-97