Leaving Las Vegas (1995) Full Review

Film Scene Investigation

Here’s my review of the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas.   Thanks for watching and please subscribe.  New videos dropping every week.   For Exclusive Content:  https://www.patreon.com/filmsceneinvestigation   Rumble:  https://www.rumble.com/filmsceneinvestigations

Transcript

00:00hey guys it's me Bo Carter back once again with another cult movie review

00:17thanks for checking out the video hope everyone is doing well today I'm gonna

00:23be checking out the 1995 drama leaving Las Vegas if you haven't already guys

00:30please do consider hitting the subscribe button goes a long way to help supporting

00:34the channel and yeah let's get into it so the film directed by Mike Figgis was

00:40based on the 1990 novel by author John O'Brien the movie stars actor Nicolas

00:49Cage in the lead role as alcoholic Ben Sanderson now I'm a fan of Nicolas Cage's

00:57work no doubt he's a very capable actor but it's fair to say that over the years

01:06Cage has starred in some questionable material but when it comes to this movie

01:13leaving Las Vegas Nicolas Cage was absolutely brilliant and fully deserving

01:20of his Oscar I've seen many of his works over the years and this performance in

01:27particular is a real standout in his filmography also starring alongside Cage

01:34was actress Elizabeth Shue best known for her work in the Karate Kid and the Back

01:41to the Future franchise so leaving Las Vegas follows the character Ben

01:46Sanderson a Hollywood agent with a very big drinking problem his family had just

01:54abandoned him and to make things worse at the start of the film we see Ben lose

02:00his job due to poor work performance it was clear from the outset that Ben was

02:08going through some serious issues yet seemed to be in total denial about the

02:16situation he wasn't seeking medical help or an intervention his only focus seemed on

02:27consuming as much alcohol as possible Ben would go on to receive his severance

02:33package from his employer but ultimately that only made things much worse with

02:41nothing left to lose Ben burnt his family photos in a drunken haze and set off to Las

02:48Vegas in the pursuit to drink himself to death upon arriving in Vegas Ben bumps into a

02:57prostitute called Sarah played by Elizabeth Shue the two formed this

03:05unconventional relationship that served as the basis for the story once

03:12together Ben and Sarah seemed to be in a world all to themselves as they bonded over

03:21their traumatic memories we saw the characters come to an agreement whereby Ben spared any

03:28judgment on Sarah's occupation and in return Sarah would never let Ben stop drinking I have to

03:38say Nicolas Cage and Elizabeth Shue had brilliant on-screen chemistry together which was vital for

03:45this film to work effectively I don't know this for sure but I gathered director Mike figures likely put

03:55a lot of his time and focus into casting these two roles so Ben kept drinking his behavior got more and

04:05more erratic Sarah continued to horror self out and while they assured each other that they were both

04:15okay with the situation it soon became apparent that both were deeply hurt by what the other one was

04:23doing while it was admirable for both of them to be completely honest with one another it wasn't long

04:32before we saw Sarah asked Ben to get help for his addiction going back on what she initially agreed to

04:41and although Ben had found a woman that had feelings for him his self determined death couldn't be changed by anyone not even Sarah's

04:55love Ben was truly set in his ways and it was a tragic sight to see as a viewer you find yourself caring for the

05:09for the character hoping that he would come to some realization that this wasn't the way to go and that he could make a change

05:17but ultimately he never does and having that bleak outcome gave the film a strong sense of realism

05:29life isn't always great yet Hollywood had or has a tendency to give us more happy endings

05:39things than sad ones for that alone I appreciated the film not holding back in its ugly depiction of dependency

05:51you know interestingly it's never revealed exactly why Ben drank so heavily it's kind of left up to the viewer to decipher

06:03decipher what exactly what exactly was the cause but seeing Ben in those various drunken states

06:12really put into perspective how easy it is for someone to abuse substances to help run away from their problems

06:22so Nicolas Cage won the best actor Oscar for his performance in leaving Las Vegas something that as I said I thought was fully fully deserved

06:34the Ben character was a drunk in a downward spiral experiencing deep depression

06:44Cage was masterful here maneuvering every drunken stumble and line of slurred speech and as the film progressed we saw Ben grow

06:56more and more sickly with this sweaty pale complexion his voice levels his body movements everything seems so authentic

07:10which made for some really uncomfortable viewing it's safe to say that Nicolas Cage fully committed

07:19to this role and clearly trusted director Mike figures to ensure his performance wasn't compromised in any way

07:30it's a wonderfully measured performance by Cage who clearly was at the height of his acting abilities

07:39don't get me wrong Cage has delivered some great performances over the years in other projects

07:45but for me nothing has topped his role in leaving Las Vegas

07:51I want to take a moment to mention actress Elizabeth Shue who was brilliant in this film

07:58I've seen some of her work throughout the years including the 1987 movie Cocktail acting alongside Tom Cruise

08:07but for me this was her best performance she's ever given her portrayal as Sarah felt genuine

08:18as she battled her own inner demons in the midst of Ben's alcohol addiction

08:27you know Shue's character showed signs of having some sort of Stockholm syndrome

08:34I say this because we saw Sarah continually accept abuse from her pimp which she then blamed herself for

08:43it was sad to watch a poor innocent woman wrapped up in this world of debauchery

08:51Ben was the one who couldn't cope with failure so decided to opt out of life quite literally

08:59Sarah on the other hand maintained a sense of optimism as she struggled along the edges of society in Las Vegas

09:08and with how the movie ended you hope that the character somehow someway found happiness after Ben's death

09:18cinematographer Declan Quinn did a fantastic job producing some brilliant visuals for the film

09:27throughout the movie we are treated to some wonderful cinematic shots of downtown Las Vegas

09:35there is actually a key visual that I wanted to mention where we saw Sarah drip alcohol down her body

09:43in front of Ben to entice him Ben became totally mesmerized as Sarah unstrapped her bathing suit

09:53for a moment it was like the world had completely stopped and they were the only two people that existed

10:01it was an erotically charged moment that was beautifully captured on film

10:07a stunning visual that would likely exist in the dreams of most alcoholics

10:16now I really enjoyed the score for leaving Las Vegas it was a mixture of contemporary jazz and piano music

10:26that created a stylish yet sophisticated vibe for the film the soundtrack blended perfectly with the visuals on

10:35screen which only heightened the movie's overall quality now I was surprised to learn that Mike Figgis

10:44the director himself was actually the one behind the music the guy that actually produced the whole thing

10:51I read into his biography and found out that Figgis had an actual musical background of sorts

10:58so the director used his talent to conjure up this wonderful compelling score that stands on its own merits

11:08and I'll have to say a less quality soundtrack would have made Nicolas Cage's unique performance

11:16seem more like a comedic parody

11:18and so dislikes for leaving Las Vegas 1995

11:24my biggest dislike for the movie would have to be the lack of screen time for actor Julian Sands

11:33that played Sarah's pimp, Yuri

11:35now in terms of the character itself

11:38I thought he delivered a believable performance as this European scummy pimp

11:45Sands even adopted this broken English foreign accent which worked wonders for his character

11:51you know it didn't take much for you to realize that Yuri was a real lowlife

11:59and while it all worked well for the film the character didn't last very long

12:05and my main issue was that given Sands was great here I felt his talents were kind of wasted

12:12the Yuri character was introduced and then killed off quite quickly

12:17you know for me you either have Sands play a more important role in the film or cast someone else

12:25maybe a lesser known actor to play the pimp

12:28maybe there were more scenes with Yuri that were removed from the film's final cut

12:33either way it just felt strange having such a capable actor wasted in this minor role

12:39and so ratings for leaving las vegas 1995 going to be rating this movie a strong 8 out of 10

12:50ultimately leaving las vegas is a portrait of hopelessness with the two central characters

12:58on their own individual paths to self-destruction

13:00the movie manages to blend the dark comedy and the downbeat tragedy into this emotional moving love story

13:13and undeniably this is Nicolas Cage's strongest performance

13:20even though over the years Cage has become somewhat of a meme with his outlandish performances

13:29no doubt this role Ben Sanderson leaving las vegas Cage proved to everyone how good of an actor he can be

13:39here's a movie that upon its release received a lot of plaudits and i think that was fully justified

13:48brilliant direction from Mike Figgis who doesn't pull any punches

13:54to those who have yet to watch this one i'd say go ahead it's worth your time but with all that said

14:03this movie isn't for everyone the lurid depictions of alcoholism violence and despair could easily put off

14:14the casual viewer so be aware if you're after some nonsensical escapism

14:22perhaps this movie isn't for you but if you're someone watching this video that has seen the movie

14:28i would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below

14:32anyways that's all from me today guys i hope you've enjoyed the video

14:36i'll be back very soon with more reviews please do take care see you all soon bye

14:48bye

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15:11You

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