Leaving Las Vegas
Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having lost his family and been recently fired, has decided to move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. He loads a supply of liquor and beer into his BMW and gets drunk as he drives from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Once there, he develops a romantic relationship with a sex worker played by Elisabeth Shue and the film shifts to include her narrative perspective. O'Brien died from suicide after signing away the film rights to the novel.
Plot
Ben Sanderson is an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who has lost his job, family, and friends. With nothing left to live for, and a sizable severance check from his boss, he heads to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. One early morning, he drives drunkenly from his Los Angeles home down to the Las Vegas Strip; he nearly hits a woman, Sera, on the crosswalk. She chastises him and walks away.
Awards
Cast
- Albert Henderson
- Bob Rafelson
- Carey Lowell
- Danny Huston
- David Brisbin
- Ed Lauter
- Elisabeth Shue
- Emily Procter
- French Stewart
- Graham Beckel
- Jeremy Jordan
- Julian Sands
- Laurie Metcalf
- Lucinda Jenney
- Mariska Hargitay
- Michael A. Goorjian
- Mike Figgis
- Nicolas Cage
- Paul Quinn
- R. Lee Ermey
- Richard Lewis
- Shawnee Smith
- Steven Weber
- Thomas Kopache
- Valeria Golino
- Vincent Ward
- Xander Berkeley
More details
| author | John O'Brien Mike Figgis |
|---|---|
| award | Academy Award for Best Actor Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film National Board of Review: Top Ten Films |
| contentLocation | Los Angeles |
| director | Mike Figgis |
| editor | John Smith |
| events | alcoholism prostitution suicide |
| genre | drama romance |
| keywords | anal sex college student deathbed drink evict excalibur hotel and casino hollywood hotel room las vegas las vegas strip latvian morning nothing pimp polish-american organized crime polish mobsters screenwriter sex worker |
| musicBy | Anthony Marinelli |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Director Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay |
| producer | Annie Stewart Lila Cazès |
| productionCompany | StudioCanal#Film library United Artists |
| publisher | MGM/UA Distribution Co. |
| recordedAt | Santa Monica |
| theme | independent rape romantic drama sexuality |