Leaving Las Vegas

Leaving Las Vegas

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mike Figgis
Produced by Lila Cazès
Annie Stewart
Written by John O'Brien (novel)
Mike Figgis (screenplay)
Starring Nicolas Cage
Elisabeth Shue
Julian Sands
Richard Lewis
Valeria Golino
Music by Mike Figgis
Cinematography Declan Quinn
Editing by John Smith
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s) October 27, 1995 (limited)
February 9, 1996 (wide)
Running time 112 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $4,000,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue $32,029,928

Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film directed and written by Mike Figgis, based on a semi-autobiographical novel by John O'Brien. Nicholas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has terminated his previous 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 centre of the film. Two weeks after the production of the film had started, O'Brien committed suicide. A halt of the project was considered, but work on the film was continued as a tribute to the author.

Leaving Las Vegas was filmed in super 16mm[1] instead of 35 mm film format, which is the basic film gauge most commonly used for mainstream film, although 16 mm is relatively common for art house films. After a limited release in the United States on October 27, 1995, Leaving Las Vegas made its nation-wide release on February 9, 1996, receiving enduring praise from both critics and audiences alike. Cage received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his work in this while Shue was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film itself also received nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director.

Contents

Plot

Ben Sanderson (Cage) is a Hollywood agent who has lost everything because of his alcoholism. He loses his job, his family, and decides to commit suicide by alcohol consumption in Las Vegas. After arriving, he meets Sera (Shue), a prostitute, and a deep friendship and understanding develops between them.

The movie begins with Ben gleefully filling a shopping cart with liquor. Then, in a restaurant, he borrows some money from his colleague Peter (Richard Lewis), and proceeds directly to a bar and starts drinking. He attempts to pick up a pretty girl (Valeria Golino) and fails. After leaving the bar he visits a prostitute, and succeeds only in getting his wedding ring stolen. He is fired from his job for alcohol-related issues and is given a large severance package. When his boss asks him what he is going to do next, Ben responds "I thought I'd move out to Las Vegas". He goes home and starts emptying his house by stuffing bedding in garbage bags, and creating a bonfire in his backyard on which he burns photographs, clothes, his passport and other possessions. He then leaves for Las Vegas. As he drives his BMW drunkenly down the Las Vegas Strip, he almost hits a woman in the crosswalk (Sera), who chastises him. Ben checks himself into a sleazy motel called The Whole Year Inn. However, as he looks at this the wording changes to "The Hole You're In."

Sera (Elisabeth Shue) is a Las Vegas prostitute who works for a pimp, Yuri Butso (Julian Sands), a Latvian immigrant. Yuri and Sera "share a volatile relationship where Yuri is the dominate and Sera is the masochist." Polish mobsters are after Yuri for an unknown matter, so he breaks his relationship with Sera in fear that the Poles may hurt her. It frees Sera to continue to build her relationship with Ben.

On his second day in Las Vegas, Ben finds Sera, on the same street where he first met her, introduces himself and offers her $500 to go to his room for an hour. Sera agrees to go to his room, but she gets confused when Ben does not want to have sex with her. Instead, they just talk, and in the process they create an odd relationship with each other. Their relationship, however, is ultimately doomed; Sera has to promise Ben that she will never ask him to stop drinking, and Ben is not allowed to criticize Sera's occupation. At first the two are generally stable. Ben states that he is "totally at ease with this (Sera's prostitution)." However, after spending some time together, they both become more and more frustrated with the other's behavior. Over time, Sera attempts to get Ben to eat but Ben refuses to even notice these actions as he stumbles for more alcohol. Finally, Sera becomes so fed up with Ben's alcoholism that she begs him to see a doctor. Ben, furious but far too intoxicated to express his feelings, goes out and brings another prostitute (played by Mariska Hargitay) back to Sera's house. Sera returns home to find them together and throws Ben out. Shortly afterward, she is raped and beaten by three teenagers, and the injuries she sustains make her occupation publicly obvious. After being evicted, Sera receives a telephone call from Ben, who is on his deathbed. She goes to visit 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".

Cast

Production

Developement

Mike Figgis based Leaving Las Vegas on a 1990 autobiographical novel by John O'Brien who committed suicide in April 1994, shortly before finding out his novel was being made into a film.[2][3] Despite basing the vast majority of his screenplay on O'Brien's novel, Figgis has spoken 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."[4]

Casting

Mike Figgis encouraged the two lead actors to experience their character's ordeals first-hand by conducting 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."[4] In order to do this, Cage researched his character by binge drinking in Dublin for two weeks and had a friend to videotape him under the influence so he could study his speech patterns as well as visiting hospitalized career alcoholics.[5] He later admitted that "it was one of the most enjoyable pieces of research I've ever had to do for a part."[5] In addition, Shue spent time interviewing and accosiating with several Las Vegas prostitutes on their working habits and personal lives.

Filming

The meager budget dictated the extent of production ability and Figgis ended up filming in Super 16mm format and composing his own score for the film.[1][6] 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."[4] As a result, Figgis had problems because permits were not issued for some street scenes.[7] This caused him to film some scenes on the Las Vegas strip in one shot to avoid any police contact, which Figgis has since remarked as benefiting 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."[4][7]

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

Reception

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

Reception

Leaving Las Vegas was received well by critics, scoring 82 metapoints out of 100.[8] Critics such as Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times and Rick Groen from Canadian 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).[9] Leonard Klady from Variety said Leaving Las Vegas was "certainly among a scant handful of films that have taken an unflinching view of dependency."[10] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 94% overall approval out of 31 reviews.[11] Overall, the film was a success at the box office grossing $32,029,928.[12]

Awards

Award wins
Award nominations

Home media releases

The video cassettes and DVD of the film were distributed by MGM.[13] 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.[14][15] The DVD contains a supplemental "Hidden Page" menu feature.[13] 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)".

Soundtrack

The following is a list of songs featured in the original soundtrack of the film.[16]

  1. "Intro Dialogue" (Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue) – 0:32
  2. "Angel Eyes" (Sting) – 4:02
  3. "Are You Desirable?" (John Doe, Brian Smith) – 2:43
  4. "Ben & Bill" (Nicolas Cage) – 0:30
  5. "Leaving Las Vegas" (Mike Figgis) – 3:12
  6. "Sera's Dark Side" (Mike Figgis) – 1:26
  7. "Mara" (Mike Figgis) – 4:28
  8. "Burlesque" (Mike Figgis) – 2:40
  9. "On The Street" (Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue) – 0:28
  10. "Bossa Vega" (Mike Figgis) – 3:14
  11. "Ben Pawns His Rolex/Sera Talks To Her Shrink" (Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue) – 0:37
  12. "My One And Only Love" (Sting) – 3:36
  13. "Sera Invites Ben To Stay" (Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue) – 0:31
  14. "Come Rain Or Come Shine" (Don Henley) – 3:41
  15. "Ben And Sera - Theme" (Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue) – 2:18
  16. "Ridiculous" (Nicolas Cage) – 1:03
  17. "Biker Bar" (Mike Figgis) – 3:44
  18. "Ben's Hell" (Mike Figgis) – 1:37
  19. "It's A Lonesome Old Town" (Sting) – 2:37
  20. "Blues For Ben" (Mike Figgis) – 1:56
  21. "Get Out" (Mike Figgis) – 1:49
  22. "Reunited" (Mike Figgis) – 3:28
  23. "Sera Talks To The Cab Driver" (Elisabeth Shue, Lou Rawls) – 0:23
  24. "She Really Loved Him " (Mike Figgis) – 1:17
  25. "I Won't Be Going South For A While" (The Palladinos) – 4:27

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Roger Ebert. "Cage relishes operatic role in tragic 'Leaving Las Vegas'". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19951105/PEOPLE/111010327. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
  2. ↑ John O'Brien's bittersweet departure | Leaving Las Vegas | Movie Commentary | News + Notes | Entertainment Weekly
  3. ↑ Scott, A. O.. "FILM REVIEW;Lurching Through a Life Of Alcoholic Abandon". NY Times. http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=1&title1=&title2=LEAVING+LAS+VEGAS+(MOVIE)&reviewer=Janet+Maslin&v_id=135758&pdate=19951027&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2007-01-16. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Noll, Christopher. "Viva, "Las Vegas!" - Interviewing Director Mike Figgis". Film Critic. http://www.filmcritic.com/features/1996/02/viva-las-vegas---interviewing-director-mike-figgis. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Cage Did Serious Research For Alcoholic Role". WENN. http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2000-08-09#celeb5. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
  6. ↑ Boyar, Tracy. "It's Worth Watching for Leaving Las Vegas". The Free Lance Star. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7OgyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xgcGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3275,1656270&dq=leaving-las-vegas+production&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ryan Lampe. "'Leaving Las Vegas' reminds us performance counts". The Stanford Daily. http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2005/11/4/leavingLasVegasRemindsUsPerformanceCounts. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
  8. ↑ The score from "Leaving Las Vegas". MetaCritic.com. http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/leavinglasvegas. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
  9. ↑ Roger Ebert (1995-11-10). "'Leaving Las Vegas'". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19951110/REVIEWS/511100303/1023. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
  10. ↑ Leonard Klady (1995-09-18). "Leaving Las Vegas". Variety.com. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=review&reviewid=VE1117904456&categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
  11. ↑ "Leaving Las Vegas". Rotten Tomatoes.com. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leaving_las_vegas/. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
  12. ↑ "'Leaving Las Vegas'". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=leavinglasvegas.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "DVD details for Leaving Las Vegas". IMDB.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113627/dvd. Retrieved 2006-01-08. 
  14. ↑ "Leaving Las Vegas (1995) VHS". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/6304045824/. Retrieved 2006-01-08. 
  15. ↑ "Leaving Las Vegas (1995) DVD". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Las-Vegas-Kim-Adams/dp/0792838068. Retrieved 2006-01-08. 
  16. ↑ "Leaving Las Vegas CD". CD Universe.com. http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1207112/a/Leaving+Las+Vegas.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 

External links

Films directed by Mike Figgis
1980s
Stormy Monday (1988)
1990s
Internal Affairs (1990) • Liebestraum (1991) • Mr. Jones (1993) • The Browning Version (1994) • Leaving Las Vegas (1995) • One Night Stand (1997) • The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1999) • Miss Julie (1999)
2000s
Timecode (2000) • Hotel (2001) • Cold Creek Manor (2003) • Love Live Long (2008)