Nicolas Cage is one of the greatest actors of our times, very much because of his filmography including extremely diverse set of roles. This happened because of Cage’s legendary unwillingness to be particularly choosy about projects he would take part in, ranging from mainstream Hollywood blockbusters, unambitious low budget exploitation films to pretentious art dramas. Many such experiments, despite Cage’s, sometimes overenthusiastic, immersion into each of such roles, ended badly, but sometimes risks were well-rewarded. The greatest triumph of Cage’s career happened in Leaving Las Vegas, 1995 film written and directed by Mike Figgis, today known as one of the finest dramas of its time.
The film is based on autobiographical novel by John O’Brien. Plot begins in Los Angeles where the protagonist, once successful Hollywood screenwriter Ben Sanderson (played by Cage) learns that he got fired from the studio. But this is nothing compared with much more chronic and devastating adversity – his alcoholism which entered in near terminal phase. Ben, who had also lost his wife and son to drinking, decides that he doesn’t have anything to live for any more, so he discards or sells all of his possessions and drives to Las Vegas with somewhat vague idea that she he could spend all of his money and time drinking himself to death. There he meets prostitute named Sera (played by Elisabeth Shue), whose abusive Russian pimp Yuri (played by Julian Sands) became target of his gangland associates. She desperately needs some kind of protection, while Ben, despite all of his self-destructive behaviour, needs company. That accidental encounter between two losers turns into romance, which is doomed with realisation that both lovers won’t change – Ben can’t stop drinking, while Sera can’t stop selling her body.
To say that Leaving Las Vegas is dark and depressive story is an understatement. It is easy to imagine it as such even without knowing that the author of the original novel shot himself to death two weeks after start of film’s production. The film was directed by Mike Figgis, British film maker whose career, especially in its early phase, epitomises Author Theory; apart from directing, Figgis also wrote the script and composed the jazzy soundtrack (together with Anthony Marinelli), accompanied by songs performed by his old friend Sting (who starred in his feature debut Stormy Monday). Figgis, known for being one of the more “artsy” directors that preferred style and experimentation over conventional narratives, had relatively low budget, which had forced him to shoot on Super 16 mm film, instead of 35 mm format characteristic of most Hollywood production. Figgis managed to evade his film looking rough around the edges, and the actually helped with establishing dark and realistic atmosphere. Las Vegas, despite being one of entertainment capitals of America, looks rather unglamorous in this film, being portrayed mostly through cheap motels and pawn shops that cater to the most desperate of the clientele like the protagonists of the film.
And those protagonists are played by two great actors. For Cage, known for his enthusiasm, role of Ben was one of riskiest in the career, and not only in terms of critical response. In order to be as believable in the role of self-destructive alcoholic as possible, he actually practised binge drinking and videotaped himself in order to later study and copy his mannerisms under influence. This resulted in one of the greatest roles of his career. Ben is realistic but interesting character; despite at times being obnoxious drunk or pathetic wrecks during withdrawals, short lucid moments allow audience to imagine times when he was nice husband and father, talented screenwriter and, most importantly, a good man. That goodness might be found in scenes when he warns Sera about his “dark” moments and that their relationship might not be such a good idea. Cage and Figgis don’t tell us what made this character enter such self-destructive spiral, but the audience might get the idea that it was loss of love and emptiness that is permanently filled by bottle and, too little and too late, by characters by Sera. Cage quite deservingly won Oscar for this performance.
Unlike Cage, Elisabeth Shue only got nominated and didn’t win Oscar, but she should have. An actress who rose to stardom by playing squeaky clean protagonists of 1980s teen films, also took great risks, and not only because of few nude scenes that often, and quite predictably in the context of this film, look rather un-erotic. She plays prostitute who, like Cage’s characters, once along the way, took wrong decision and ended on streets where she can’t escape vicious cycle of exploitation and abuse just like Ben can’t escape alcohol. But there is also a goodness in her character, desire to do the right thing, even if that right thing is to make a self-destructive and sometimes unpleasant man spend his last weeks of life in slightly more pleasant circumstances. Shue is also, despite her circumstances, an anchor that link audience to the world of “normalcy”, and this is achieved thanks to scenes in which she comments and narrates the plot to unseen person that might or might not be her therapist. Those scenes were originally made as Shue’s screen test for the film but Figgis decided to keep them in the film and they serve perfectly, closing Leaving Las Vegas into coherent narrative whole. Somewhat ironically, Shue would decades later return to Las Vegas as Julie Finlay, one of the protagonists of CSI: Crime Scene Investagation. Even audience who care little about that show or aren’t fans of the actors would probably appreciate Leaving Las Vegas as an example of film making at its best.
RATING: 9/10 (++++)
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