To call Nicolas Cage's character an alcoholic would be a disservice to alcoholics everywhere. I mean, even a raging drunk has to come up for air sometimes, but Ben Sanderson (Cage) knocked down bottles of booze with the speed of The Flash, torching the memories of his past and sliding into the darkest oblivion imaginable. There's some measure of humanity in the story when Ben discovers a Las Vegas street walker named Sera (Elizabeth Shue), who offers him her love and friendship because of an ethereal connection she makes with the down and out former screenwriter. Yet even their tender moments together and the poignant background music do little to hide the fact that these two damaged souls are derelicts from the human race, and as it turns out in Ben's case, beyond saving both spiritually and bodily. The film may be of service to demonstrate how low one can go before succumbing to the depths of despondency and despair, and that there may be hope around the corner if only one were to reach out and recognize a helping hand. But this one goes in the other direction, and serves as a reminder that relentlessly abusing one's body and spirit can only end one way.

This movie is essentially an updated version of The Lost Weekend which is a really old movie made long ago. A day in the life of a decent person that has fallen victim to the grip of alcoholism. Nicholas Cage's character wants to drink himself to death. Aside from all the drama that surrounds, thats really what he wants to do. The one Woman that could have saved him but loves him anyway, is performed by Elizabeth Shue. She respects him for what he is, and helps him on his way. I guess that is what true love. Accepting someone for what they are without judgement and that accurately sums up this magnificent film.

Leaving Las Vegas came out (1995) I gave it 7/10 for its efforts off showing how alcohol can damage lives and careers in this 1hr 51min | Drama, and Romance with a few Oscars nomination and win in this indie film. I think the success of Ben career as screen writer and probably all the parties got to much for his character life. this is nick 2nd film set in Las Vegas with con air been the other Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera Director:Mike Figgis directed an award winning film for 2 characters who acted out their skin but nick didn't deserve Elizabeth did deserved for her emotion to her character it won a best actor Oscar Nicolas Cage ...Ben Sanderson / but he should not have won I would have gave it to Anthony Hopkins for Nixon or Sean Penn for dead man walking Elisabeth Shue ...Sera Because his wife left him and took his son with her, screenwriter Ben Sanderson has started drinking, a lot. He's getting more and more isolated and he troubles women in bars because he wants to have s*x with them. When he gets fired, he decides to leave everything behind and move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death where the bars never close . In Las Vegas he meets Sera, a prostitute with some problems as well who he moves in with.an extraordinary love affair develops and vows never to ask him to stop drinking she breaks vow which is very heart breaking and he leaves Not unlike John Huston's Under The Volcano, Leaving Las Vegas borrows from Greek mythology, obliquely mirroring the tragedy and pathos of Orpheus' failed attempt to rescue his dead wife, Eurydice, from Hades. Mike Figgis obliges us with a helpful hint in the scene where Nicolas Cage gives Elizabeth Shue a present of earrings: Greek cameos.As in the ancient tale, love challenges the inevitability of death, although, in the case of LLV, roles are upended and sometimes blurred, and Orphean references are either thinly disguised, or non-specific to the point of being thoroughly sublimated. Academic, to be sure, but completely acceptable as long as LLV can sustain itself and remain engaging. And it surely does, thanks to Figgis' intelligent script and direction, Cage's role as a down-and-out writer and his protracted self-destruction, and Shue's portrayal of a lonely hooker, lifting that old bromide beyond what could have been routine, since .With all that said, this film is not for everyone (in particular those who only respond to gratuitous sex, car chases, and mindless pyrotechnics). The lurid depictions of despair, self-loathing, and violence could put off even the most hardened social worker. In my mind's eye, I could see psychiatrists amongst the theater audiences, furiously jotting down their observations. Understandable; the two principal characters are, in the common parlance, screwed up. One cannot cope with failure, so decides to opt out, while the other does cope, but only barely, existing along the ragged edges of what passes for society in Nevada Hell. These details, though, tend to outline and, indeed, strengthen the true heart of this film: Sacrifice and Unconditional Love.this is my 184 review

Hollywood screenwriter Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage) is a hopeless drunk and self-destructing. He loses his job and his family. He decides to destroy everything in his home, drive to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. He runs into call girl Sera (Elisabeth Shue) and hires her. Her abusive pimp Yuri (Julian Sands) had followed her out from L.A. He's broke and on the run from a gang. Ben and Sera begin a relationship accepting each other's flaws. However these flaws overtake them in the end.This is a movie about a drunk and a hooker with a heart of gold. Cage and Shue make this more than the simple cliché it sounds like. They infuse these characters with humanity. They give two great performances.