Leaving Las Vegas Information

Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film directed and written by Mike Figgis, based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas. While there, he forms a relationship with a hardened prostitute, played by Elisabeth Shue, which forms the center of the film. O'Brien committed suicide two weeks after production of the film started. A halt was considered, but work continued as a tribute.

Leaving Las Vegas was filmed in super 16mm instead of 35 mm film which is most commonly used for mainstream film, although 16 mm is common for art house films. After limited release in the United States on October 27, 1995, Leaving Las Vegas made its nationwide release on February 9, 1996, receiving strong praise from critics and audiences. Cage received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama and the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Shue was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film also received nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director.

Plot

Ben Sanderson (Cage) is a Hollywood screenwriter whose alcoholism costs him his job, family, and friends. With nothing left, he goes to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. As he drives drunkenly down the Las Vegas Strip, he almost hits a woman in the crosswalk, Sera (Shue), who chastises him. Ben checks into a sleazy motel called The Whole Year Inn. As he looks at this the wording changes to "The Hole You're In." Meanwhile, Sera is a prostitute for an abusive pimp, Yuri Butso (Julian Sands), a Latvian immigrant. Polish mobsters are after Yuri, so he breaks his relationship with Sera in fear that the Poles may hurt her, and Yuri is murdered (off-screen) shortly afterwards.

On his second day in Las Vegas, Ben meets Sera, on the street where he first met her, introduces himself and offers $500 to go to his room for an hour. Sera agrees to go to his room, but Ben does not want sex. Instead, they talk and create an odd relationship. Their relationship is doomed; Sera has to promise Ben she will never ask him to stop drinking, and Ben is not allowed to criticize Sera's occupation. At first the two are stable, as Ben is "totally at ease with this (Sera's prostitution)." However, each becomes frustrated with the other's behavior. Sera attempts to get Ben to eat but Ben stumbles for more alcohol. Sera begs him to see a doctor. Ben, furious but intoxicated, brings another prostitute (Mariska Hargitay) to Sera's house. Sera returns home and throws Ben out. Shortly afterward, she is raped and beaten by three college students, and the injuries make her occupation obvious. After being evicted, Sera receives a call from Ben, who is on his deathbed. She visits Ben and they have sex. They fall asleep, and when Ben wakes up, he looks across at Sera, who is lying on top of him, and dies while holding her as she sleeps. His last word is "wow". In the final scene Sera says that she accepted him for who he was, liked his drama and that she loved him.

Cast

• Nicolas Cage as Ben Sanderson
• Elisabeth Shue as Sera
• Julian Sands as Yuri Butso
• Richard Lewis as Peter
• Steven Weber as Marc Nussbaum
• Emily Procter as Debbie
• Valeria Golino as Terri
• Thomas Kopache as Mr. Simpson
• R. Lee Ermey as Conventioneer
• Xander Berkeley as Cynical Cabbie
• Mariska Hargitay as Hooker at Bar
• Kim Adams as Sheila

Production

Development

Mike Figgis based Leaving Las Vegas on a 1990 autobiographical novel by John O'Brien, who committed suicide in April 1994, shortly after finding out his novel was being made into a film. Despite basing most of his screenplay on O'Brien's novel, Figgis spoke of a personal attachment with the novel. "Anything I would do would be because I had a sympathetic feeling towards it. That's why I did Mr. Jones, because I think manic-depression is a fascinating, sad, and amazing phenomenon. It's not a coincidence that some of the greatest artists have been manic-depressive[s]. That made it, to me, a fascinating subject that, alas, did not come out in the film."

Casting

Figgis encouraged the lead actors to experience their character's ordeals first-hand by extensive research. He told Film Critic: "It was just a week and a half of rehearsal. A lot of conversations. A lot of communication in the year before we made the film. Reading the book. I encouraged them [Cage and Shue] to do their own research, which they wanted to do anyway, and then ultimately the three of us got together and just started talking...talking about anything, not necessarily about the film or the script, about anything that came up." Cage researched by binge drinking in Dublin for two weeks and had a friend videotape him so he could study his speech. He also visited hospitalized career alcoholics. He said "it was one of the most enjoyable pieces of research I've ever had to do for a part." Shue spent time interviewing several Las Vegas prostitutes.

Filming

The limited budget dictated the production and Figgis ended up filming in super 16mm and composing his own score. He remarked, "We didn't have any money, and we weren't pretending to be something we weren't. We couldn't shut down The Strip to shoot." Figgis had problems because permits were not issued for some street scenes. This caused him to film some scenes on the Las Vegas strip in one take to avoid the police, which Figgis said benefited production and the authenticity of the acting: " 'I've always hated the convention of shooting on a street, and then having to stop the traffic, and then having to tell the actors, 'Well, there's meant to be traffic here, so you're going to have to shout.' And they're shouting, but it's quiet and they feel really stupid, because it's unnatural. You put them up against a couple of trucks, with it all happening around them, and their voices become great."

The film was shot in Burbank, California, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Laughlin, Nevada, and Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada.

Themes

Leaving Las Vegas is a bittersweet love story of dependence and obsession. Ben and Sera build their relationship on the foundation that neither of them can change who they are if they are going to continue pursuing a life together, further validating the theme of a tragic love story born in a desperate world between two self-destructive people (Ben with alcohol, Sera with prostitution). Nicolas Cage called Ben "crumbled elegance", and viewed him as a man who once had it all; Cage thus tried to give the character a kind of "continental elegance when he was in a bad situation". Cage continued by saying that the elegance is imploding on him because of the booze, causing it to fall apart. "But you still get the idea of what it used to be." There is hope, however, with Sera's character, who despite having nobody to turn to, is less unfortunate and dependent. Shue perceived her character in a similar light: "She is a wounded soul. She is clinging to hope in the midst of desperation. I think they are not of the world, there is a mythical nature to their love. A couple with a positive energy. A contradiction to other elements."

Release

Leaving Las Vegas had a limited release on October 27, 1995. After praise from critics and four Academy Award nominations, the film was released nationwide February 9, 1996. United Artists company distributed the film in North America, RCV Film Distribution with Atalanta Filmes in Europe, and in Australia 21st Century Film Corporation distributed the film.

Reception

Leaving Las Vegas was received very well by critics, scoring 82 metapoints out of 100. Critics such as Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times and Rick Groen from The Globe and Mail gave the film high marks. Ebert wrote, "They (the characters) are the drunk and the whore with a heart of gold. Cage and Shue make these clichés into unforgettable people." Ebert named the film 'best of 1995' and included it with his 'best of the decade' list (Leaving Las Vegas was #8). Leonard Klady from Variety said Leaving Las Vegas was "certainly among a scant handful of films that have taken an unflinching view of dependency." On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 89% overall approval out of 47 reviews. Overall, the film was a success at the box office, particularly considering its budget, grossing $32,029,928.

Awards

Award wins

• Academy Award for Best Actor: (Nicolas Cage)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama: (Nicolas Cage)

Award nominations

• Academy Award for Best Actress: (Elisabeth Shue)
• Academy Award for Directing: (Mike Figgis)
• Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay: (Mike Figgis)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture: (Mike Figgis)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama: (Leaving Las Vegas)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama: (Elisabeth Shue)

Home media releases

The video cassettes and DVD of the film were distributed by MGM. The video cassettes were distributed on November 12, 1996 in two languages, English and Russian, while the DVD was distributed on January 1, 1998 in English for USA and Canada only, later Australian and UK editions were released. The DVD contains a supplemental "Hidden Page" menu feature. The film is also released on Blu-ray, HD DVD and LaserDisc.

Spoofs

The success of Leaving Las Vegas has had a moderate effect on the media. It spawned a direct-spoof, Eating Las Vegas, about a binge eater who travels to Las Vegas to eat himself to death, and Leaving Las Vegas is also alluded to in the documentary Super Size Me (2004). It was also briefly mentioned in the Family Guy episode "Movin' Out (Brian's Song)". The Spanish pop band Amaral based their song "Moriría por vos", included in their 2002 album Estrella de mar, upon the film.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album, consisting mainly of film score composed and performed by Mike Figgis, was released November 7, 1995. The soundtrack also included three jazz standards performed by Sting and excerpts of dialogue from the film. A version of "Lonely Teardrops" performed by Michael McDonald that features in the film is not included.