The film which gave Nicolas Cage the title of "Oscar Winning Actor". Nicolas Cage is really the same character, or a different variation of the same character in just about every film he stars in. This one gave let him go a couple miles further. When I came across this film, knowing Cage won the award for 'Best Actor', I wanted to see what else he ran against or what else came out that year. Sean Penn in "Dead man Walking" was one, and frankly I think the worst of Sean Penn trumps the best of Nicolas Cage. Anthony Hopkins was another nominee in 1996, for his work in "Nixon". The winner in my opinion wasn't nominated, and perhaps before his drunken lunacy, he was already getting snuffed as an actor. Yes, he won 'Best Picture' AND 'Best Director', but based on this list of 'Best Actors', I think this should have been the year of Mel Gibson winning 3, and 4 for "Braveheart". But, thats just me.
"Leaving Las Vegas" has made an impact on quite a handful of critics. If this film was good, it would appear that the director Mike Figgis is a one hit wonder. But its not. So, he isn't. This film plays out several minutes as a porn flick, while the content is obscene and just not done very well, I know certain obscenities work in films, like "Requiem For A Dream". It works in other films as well, and based on hear say, it appears to work in this years nominee for 'Best Picture' in "The Black Swan". However, both of these films has something in common, a single man who seems to understand quality obscenities, Mr. Darren Aronofsky. He is capable of capturing some of the most disgusting personalities of human beings. This isn't easy, based on how many times films seem to fail at this. Mike Figgis failed with "Leaving Las Vegas".
I never feel like anything is real, like any situation COULD ever really exist. Yes, I think drunkards exist in the condition in which Nicolas Cage performs, but none of the story around him to support his character. He is a man who lost his job, is given a check, and runs off to Vegas to drink his life away. On the first or second day he is resorting to selling his car and his watch, all the while he is buying liquor store quantities of booze on a seemingly endless supply of invisible money. My brain isn't being deceived into buying into the realism here. I think the story could have been portrayed on film far better, and I don't necessarily blame Cage for anything, but the writing of his character sure hinders my perception.
The one real good thing about the film was the performance by Elizabeth Shue, its just too bad she sunk so low as to star in porn scenes in a film without a talented direction. I would be devastated as an artist in any fashion who would pour my heart out into a project to find out the project manager didn't know what he was doing.
Every few minutes I reminded myself, the name of the film is "Leaving Las Vegas", so we are bound to move on or advance our characters in some way, eventually... nope.
Whatever. This film can be avoided. Nothing to see here unless you are somehow a die hard fan of Nicolas Cage, and in that case, eat your heart out, because you might not know a good film when you see one anyway.
"Leaving Las Vegas"
5.5 / 10
