Rating: 
Summary: Dramatic and Moving
Review: Leaving Las Vegas is a dramatic and moving commentary on the low point of human existance. Incredibly performed Nicholas Cage and Elizabeth Shue will draw you in as they spiral to lows beyond what many of us can imagine.* not appropriate for children
Rating:
Summary: DESERVES ALOT MORE ATTENTION
Review: I'm writing this in 2003 only because a recent conversation I had reminded me of the fact that I could have writen the exact same thing in 1995. The story is great but the acting is better than anything I've seen in years. I think that the overall critique of this film was disheartening because people viewed it ,as a depressing movie that brings you down and I could see how. I would'nt be crazy to say that Cage's performance could be up there with the best of all time. Mind blowing to me
Rating: 
Summary: Not for all tastes, yet undeniably powerful stuff
Review: This horrifyingly tragic tale about a man who has mysteriously lost his family and his life's work and who resorts to alcoholism and finds love with a kindhearted prostitute as a result, is both powerful and heart wrenching. It's a story about how we must accept each other, even in times of defeat, and still love ourselves at the same time. Leaving Las Vegas might not be for all tastes with its highly artistic making and its disturbingly hard-to-watch scenes, yet is nonetheless insightful, well done, and ultimately well performed. The rogue protagonist of this film is a man named Ben (Nicolas Cage), who is a former Hollywood executive and a widowed man who is left hopeless as a result of his family leaving him. Ben decides to relocate to Las Vegas where he plans to drink himself to death. When Ben arrives at Las Vegas, he meets an intelligent yet emotionally-wounded woman named Sera (Elisabeth Shue) who makes her living by "selling her body" on a nightly basis. Even though Ben and Sera are two individuals who are destroying themselves, they are willing to accept each other for who they are, and what results is a poignant and heartbreaking movie that's really like no other. What's very unusual about this movie is that director Mike Figgis (who adapted the screenplay from John O'Brien's novel) has achieved what some might call impossible, in that he has told a moving love story in the tawdry setting of Las Vegas. This sort of accomplishment makes Figgis, by far, an especially auspicious director. Another unique aspect to the film is that Figgis has the setting of Las Vegas, with its lights and flash-trash, allegorically help tell the story. Figgis also provides the film with a sort of smokiness and surreal feel that lend themselves to the picture. He also wrote the jazzy, edgy, and affective score, with vocals by Sting. Figgis' approach to the movie is abstract and certainly innovative. The pervasive intake of alcohol (and the scurrilous behavior that results) by Ben is shocking and emotionally powerful at the same time. In a particularly sentimental scene, Ben tells Sera that she must understand that he cannot be told to stop drinking. Sera and the audience somehow accept this at first, but later on wish that they had never agreed with this statement. The truly meritorious aspect of Leaving Las Vegas is the bravura performances of the two leads. Both Cage and Shue give their characters great depth and a shining aura of greatness. Cage won a well-deserved Academy award for his audacious performance, and Shue's performance is equally Oscar worthy and commendable. My sole criticism for this film is that it's not for all tastes. Leaving Las Vegas is so highly artistic and at times hard to watch that it might not be well liked by the mainstream audience or by those who are easily offended. The film has a darkness and unpleasantness that would turn off the more delicate viewers, and the film has a surreal manner of storytelling that would not please the majority of those who watch movies. Leaving Las Vegas can be called wonderful even though it's certainly morbid stuff. It's wonderful due to its superb directing, fresh style, galvanizing performances, and its overall message. This film will be admired by some and not all, but those who will admire it will embrace it and not regret seeing it.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best films of the year........NOT !
Review: As I said in my review for "Blue Steel"; getting a well known actor/actress to star in a movie does not gaurantee a great motion picture. The only reason I watched this movie was becuause it was late at night and there was nothing else on television. However, I couldn't believe how dull and depressing it was. Well, actually I can believe it after watching it based on the plot itself. But as I said earlier the two words to describe Leaving Las Vegas are DULL and DEPRESSING. I only give this movie one star because Elizabeth Shue is a babe.
Rating:
Summary: A Tragic Masterpiece from Start to Finish
Review: "Leaving Las Vegas" is a dark and tragic film that shows you how low you can fall and just how bad things can get. It portrays a dead-on picture of alcoholism and what exactly one goes through when they've hit rock bottom. As tragic as it is, this is a very beautiful and well-done film that keeps your attention to the bitter end. Ben Sanderson (Nicholas Cage) is an alcoholic who has nothing left to live for but the very booze that seems to be the only happiness he can find. His friends want nothing to do with him and women are disgusted by him. After being let go from his job, Ben burns all of his possessions and moves to Las Vegas, where his only plan is to drink himself to death. In a short amount of time he meets Sera (Elisabeth Shue), a lonely hooker who has been through it all. An unexpected bond is formed between the two and love falls upon them that can only end in tragedy. Boy, was this a hard movie to watch, but it was so well-done and executed. You are able to sympathize with both Ben and Sera, despite the paths they have chosen. Nicholas Cage was amazing and brilliant. No wonder why he won an Academy Award for his performance. You really buy into the fact that he is this sad character who wants nothing more but to destroy himself by the only thing that can bring him some sense of false happiness. Shue is also terrific in her role and should be applauded as well. The two are explosive as a team and can really bring the house down. The DVD is fair; nothing too special. You can have your choice of either watching the movie in widescreen or full screen. The picture for the most part looks good; not the best, but good. The main special feature this DVD offers is a trailer for the film and a bonus secret page. It would be nice if they decided to re-release this in a more superior version. "Leaving Las Vegas" is drama at its best. It's heartbreaking, but at the same time is satisfying. It's emotionally charged from start to finish. The writing is poetic, the acting is electric, and the directing is fantastic. Be warned, this is not a "feel-good" movie. It's a portrait of harsh reality and it doesn't go easy on you for a second. If you want a powerhouse drama that will keep you emotionally involved, this is the one for you. A terrific and amazing film on every front.
Rating:
Summary: drinking to death
Review: Nicolas Cage stars as Ben, a drunk who has lost his entire family, and has decided to end it all by drinking himself to death. Along this self-destructive journey, he meets Sera, a prostitute who hates herself and is oft-abused by both pimps and johns. Perhaps the most horrific scene I have ever watched is when a group of high school boys convince her to give one of them "his first time" but bring her to the hotel room for the express purpose of beating her up. The film shows Sera and Ben build a very odd relationship that they know will end because she will not interfere with his decision -- she has her own problems (such as her landlord, played dourly by Laurie Metcalf of the TV show Roseanne.) They are not quite friends, but less than lovers, yet get to know each other intimately as they head towards tragedy. Very good film -- won Cage an Oscar.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most intense movies ever.
Review: This movie plays in the brain long afterwards. I hated it because of the ending. I give it 5 stars because it's REAL and the performances were incredible. Real life doesn't end as magical as we'd like and neither does this movie. Unforgettable ... but difficult to see more than once ... any time soon.
Rating:
Summary: Unflinching, brutal honesty!
Review: An alcoholic screenwriter who has ruined everything in his life takes a pocketful of money to Las Vegas with the intent of drinking himself to death. He meets a prostitute with her own problems and the two make a human connection at the absolute lowest points of their lives. Told with unflinching, often brutal, honesty, these two people are revealed in the courageous performances by Nicholas Cage and Elizabeth Shue. Cage and Shue have nailed their parts through the heart and the guts. He is, somewhere under it all, a good man, unable and unwilling to stop his self-destruction. Cage has this guy down, an alcoholic so far gone in his addiction that he can't stop drinking some form of alcohol for more than minutes. Shue matches his performance all the way as a pretty woman who has taken her own self-destructive slide for reasons we don't know. What we see of her work puts the lie to the Hollywood "happy-go-lucky hooker" once and for all, showing the danger and degradation in the life. She is abused when she has a pimp, but is in more dangerous territory without one. This is not a film for the faint-hearted, or those who see film as only "entertainment". This is tough stuff, so if all you want is to be made happy, save your money and skip this one. For others, like myself, you will find a film that doesn't "look away" at the ugliness, but somehow finds the humanity and the sad, lost worth of these people beneath it. These two see something in each other, discover a final caring they had buried beneath the hard bark and numbness of addiction and emotionless sex. No happy ending, either folks. Cage disintegrates before our eyes, and Shue has found feelings within her hard shell, but will it transform her? We can hope, but we don't know. Brilliantly acted and directed, both leads were nominated and Cage won the Academy Award. Shue was equally deserving. Mike Figgis was true to the material and made an exceptionally honest film, capturing the cold glitter of Las Vegas and providing a haunting score. I found Sting's "My One and Only Love" especially effecting in this context. I found this film devastating when I originally saw it. The scenes of Cage drunk and embarrassing himself in public were harsh and true. When he gets his stated dream of Shue pouring liquor down her [chest] for him by the pool, in the next instant he falls through the glass table ruining everything. He moves relentlessly to a touching but starkly unglamorous end. Shue's rape is brutal and the callousness she receives afterward is chilling. This film never flinches, and for that, many will dislike it. Seeing the DVD now, has reminded me again of the power of its honesty. Ultimately, a story of the loneliness of the human soul and the need to make some kind of contact with another human being, this searing, sad and knowing drama is well worthwhile for many reasons, if you've a mind for a different story, a strange kind of love story if you will. Indelible and unforgettable.
Rating:
Summary: Making viewers laugh some, but cry more.
Review: I found this movie both funny and sad. I laughed at what a drunken [fool] the guy makes out of himself in public and at first I also found some humor in how much he drinks. He drinks in the shower, in the car, in the morning, at night, fills a whole shopping cart full of liquor, etc. But as the movie progresses, showing how serious his problem is, it's not funny anymore. So Ben the drunk has had his wife leave him already because of his drinking and now he gets fired. These loses in his life were probably both a factor in his continuing downward spiral and also a symptom of a greater problem. What exactly, his problem is, we never really find out. So he decides to go to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and develops a close relationship with a prostitute Sera. It was interesting how the two maintained a fairly strong relationship despite his insane drinking and the way she makes a living. She, by the way, moved to Vegas because there's more money there for prostitutes. We see sad scenes of her getttin abused physically and sexually in her job, so we understand that she too, while better off than him, is not living a happy life either. I felt bad for her especially in that scene where she is basically gang raped in a hotel room. Her job is risky enough, going into a room with an unknown man for sex. I felt she shouldn't have gone into one with several men there, and should always carry on her some type of weapon like a gun or even just brass knuckles-- anything. But, for 200 bucks an hour untaxed at a self-chosen job, she doesn't have the right to complain. They call it love, and if it was, then it was love at first sight. Right from the beginning she treated him differently than her usual customer and she even spent the night at his motel, which she soon pulls him from, enjoining him to live with her. Their relationship is based upon unconditional love; they accept one another as they are without even asking them to change. Ben even told her early on that she must never ask him to stop drinking. She does tearfully beg him to see a doctor, citing that this is the one and only thing she asks of him, which he won't do. He eventually drinks himself to death and the movie is slightly narrated by her comments to a therapist about the relationship. I kept hoping that since they love each other, she will try to help him and he will try to stop drinking since she gives him something to live for and he wouldn't want to hurt her. I kept hoping that they would "leave las vegas", that place that seems to both degenerate people and attract degenerates according to the movie, and they would live a happy life as a couple Apparently, his alcoholism was stronger than his love for her. While many people in her position would have tried stopping him from committing suicide, she was unselfish. She needed him desperately, out of loneliness and despair, yet she let him have his own choice. Of course the high difficulty if not impossibility of stopping him probably influenced her indifference of action. He was determined on his course. It's just so sad, all that happened to her and especially him. And more than that, it's sad to what happened to them as a couple. They seemed to have something special between them, but it would not last.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing short of outstanding!!!
Review: You will either hate this movie or be blown away by it. I was fortunate to see it in the theatre and it was one of the first DVD's I purchased. I was blown away by it...my wife didn't understand it and thought it was depressing. I have always admired Nicholis Cage as an actor. He has a way of commanding the screen and drawing you into his deeper self. The people he portrays always seem to be touchable and real. Elizabeth Shue did an excelent job as her role as a street walker. Besides the acting, the cinematography and music also lend to the film's character. Yes, it is a depressing movie about a drunk who has managed to loose everything and a street walker who's life is spiraling out of control. But it is also a movie about 2 people finding happiness, even though it is short lived, in this crazy world. They come to depend on each other till the end. I have always said that a minute of happiness is worth more than a day of dispair. All in all I liked this movie and would recomend it to anyone who likes movies with a "deeper meaning." I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
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