Review LXV
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
I've always defended Nicolas Cage when given the chance. Sure, he's been in terrible films, but those films always had a silver lining, and it was that they starred Nicolas Cage. Still, there are many good actors who have appeared in bad films, and I can definitely say that Nicolas Cage has played his part well in a number of films, one being Lord of War and another, where he actually won an Oscar for his performance, called Leaving Las Vegas. People don't seem to ever believe this, so I decided to check the film out; that way, I could actually give an opinion on his performance. The film was directed by Mike Figgis and stars Elisabeth Shue, who was nominated for an Oscar because of this film.
Ben Sanderson (Cage) is an alcoholic. His constant inebriated state has cost him his family - including his wife and son - his friends, and his job. As a result, he decides to literally give up his life in Los Angeles and move to Las Vegas where he will spend the rest of his days drinking. In a drunken state while driving, he nearly runs over Sera (Shue), a prostitute under the wing of an abusive Latvian pimp (Julian Sands). While their first meeting is rather hostile, the two eventually form a relationship. However, Sera is not allowed to ask Ben to lay off the booze, and Ben is not allowed to oppose Sera's choice of work. The awry relationship becomes even more complex when Sera finds herself falling in love with the dead man.
There isn't that much to say about this one as a whole. I can't say I thought the film was particularly filmed super well. There are a lot of slow-motion scenes which I found unnecessary, and it, overall, has a very nineties' feel. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it dates the film a bit. Regardless, though, I really enjoyed this one. The characters, or rather, Sera and Ben, are superb. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes with both characters, but also those where they were by themselves. They were interesting and well-developed, and even if the plot could sometimes be a tad clichéd, I bought into it. Of course, the performances from both Elisabeth Shue and Nicolas Cage made the characters even better. I thought the chemistry between both of them was perfect, and I was cringing and squealing (yeah...) at every opportunity. Nicolas Cage deserved his Oscar - he acted really well. He took the performance to heart, and man, he did it so well. Elisabeth Shue? I'm sorry you didn't win an Oscar because you were great, too. I cared for Sera and I understood her. That can only be done when great acting is involved. All in all, while the film didn't necessarily contain the best cinematography and the plot could be very Hollywood-ish at times, the characters and acting were phenomenal.
I'd give the film eight stars. It is certainly worth a watch, and not even to just prove that Nicolar Cage can act. No, this film is worth a watch for its real-but-surreal characters. Plus you get Sting singing, so what more could you ask for?
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