Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

waltblagdon I have always felt this was Nick Cage's best performance. We watched this today (2018) with a forgiving eye as we expected the movie to not really hold up after all these years. Although some of the film showed it's age, it held up just fine. Liz Shue was terrific. This really stands alone for us as a classic sleeper movie. I can see us watching it again in 5 years and still enjoying it.

svikasha Hollywood has made a lot of movies about Las Vegas. Iconic films like "Casino", "Ocean's Eleven", "21", and "The Hangover", immediately come to mind, conjuring up images of adventure and glamour in the dessert that have captivated the public's imagination for decades. But this is truly a misconception, because the money and glamour of Las Vegas often overshadows the gloomy underbelly that is equally a part of the reality of the city. While Las Vegas continues to be a place where people go to let loose, gambling addiction, substance abuse, and sexual violence also come with the package. This coupled with the isolating loneliness of the dessert, makes Las Vegas a genuinely grim place. "Leaving Las Vegas" is one of the few films about Las Vegas produced by Hollywood that capture the true contradictory nature of this gambling oasis. The film tells the story of a self-destructive alcoholic and a naïve escort who find comfort in each other to numb themselves from the pain of their lives. Nicolas Cage plays the alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter named Ben Sanderson who, after burning all of his bridges and losing his job, decides to move to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. In the opening scenes of the film, the extent of Ben's alcoholism is made blatantly self-evident when an out of control Ben chugs down a bottle of Vodka while driving next to a forgiving but judgmental police officer. During one particularly tragic moment, Ben drunkenly narrates to a young prostitute, "I don't know if I started drinking because my wife left me or my wife left me because I started drinking". The girl takes advantage of Ben's sorry state and proceeds to steal the man's wedding ring. Ben's love interest in the film has a story that is just as tragic. The female lead Sera, who is played by the Harvard alum Elisabeth Shue, is an escort who works for an abusive pimp at the Las Vegas Strip. After running afoul of eastern European mobsters, it is implied that Sera's pimp is murdered and Sera ends up running into Ben. By portraying the gloomy dark side of Las Vegas as the setting of this doomed love story, the film highlights the qualities of Las Vegas that are usually obscured by the ditzy lights and entertainment. Although the initial encounter between the two characters leaves much to be desired, eventually a charming if not doomed relationship forms as these two free-floating characters try to assuage the pain of their individual flaws. While charming, the film is simultaneously cruel because both the male and female leads have horribly self-destructive tendencies. This leaves the audience with the strange realization that the love affair between these two characters is doomed for failure. Yet, the movie tries to remain hopeful and one can't help but admire both the acting and on-screen chemistry between the two male and female leads.The greatest aspect of "Leaving Las Vegas" remains a subtle presence throughout the entire film. The grim nature of the story is hidden by the classical jazz and piano music as well as the upbeat soundtrack. The music is tastefully chosen to stand in deep contrast to the dark and grim nature of the circumstances of the two main leads. Perhaps the raw isolation of the dessert can bring anybody together. As an audience member, one can't help but wonder why these two self- destructive people are together. At one point the movie delivers an answer when the Sera admits says, "The only thing I have to come home to is a bottle of mouth wash to take the taste of cum out of my mouth. I'm tired of being alone. That's what I'm tired of". When one puts it like that, who isn't?

please_stand_by I'll start by saying this isn't a pleasant film to watch; however, it's a powerful one. It is executed methodically, through an unapologetic, uncompromising lens, examining the self-destructiveness of human beings in agonizing circumstances, with the caveat that even in utter anguish you can find some degree of comfort through the mutual support of another.The main character, played by Nicolas Cage, has given up on life. He is deeply dependent on alcohol to numb the pain of a life-altering tragedy involving his past family, though the details remain unspecified. He meets Sera, a disillusioned prostitute, after giving up and moving to Las Vegas to die. They quickly become reliant on one another for support in their otherwise profoundly lonely, profoundly miserable lives. But it quickly becomes established that their paths are set; they will not change.The film's greatest strength comes from the uncompromising nature of its exploration of difficult themes such as caring for someone in the face of unending despair and inevitable death. The story itself is fairly minimalist, making its thought-provoking points brilliantly without diluting them with anything artificial or sappy. The whole thing feels honest and genuine in its execution. The way the characters are portrayed by the two lead actors is also excellent, particularly Elizabeth Shue. Nicolas Cage's performance rides the line of overacting in a few places, but it works given the extremeness of the character.At a few points, the film does feel like it meanders from its strengths. This is most notable in a few scenes when the main characters are not together. Whenever they are together, the film shines. I also found some of the music for the film (which was, in part, composed by the director) to be distracting or out of place, particularly in the first half. The film is also so raw in its depictions of human despair and misery that it is a hard one to really derive true enjoyment from. It's not a film I anticipate wanting to watch again any time soon.Even while much of the film is unpleasant and difficult to digest, it is nonetheless a very strong, well-made film with a conclusion of a subtly uplifting nature. One person can make a difference in another person's life, even if it is at the very end.

FilmBuff1994 Leaving Las Vegas is a decent movie with a reasonably well developed storyline and a stellar cast. The highlight is without a doubt Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue, Cage delivering his usual over the top acting that suits him perfectly and Shue portrays a troubled woman with pure realism, the chemistry between the two of them is top notch. However, I found the plot very thin, I understood that it was heavily revolved around these two character's relationship, but it never made enough effort to keep an actual story moving forward, any scene that was merely felt forced, like the director was really not interested. My biggest issue is that the two main characters are unlikeable, we are meant to support them without being given a reason to, Ben is a man who threw his career down the drain with alcoholism, while Sera is a prostitute who regrets the decisions she has made, I could not sympathise with them, their suffering was common sense, not a reason for me to feel supportive for these leads. It will appeal to many people and I understand how, but Leaving Las Vegas did not pull me in as I would have hoped, I would not recommend it. An alcoholic befriends a down on her luck woman after moving to Las Vegas. Best Performance: Elisabeth Shue