Leaving Las Vegas the excellent 1995 film about a man deliberately drinking himself to death, is yet another film based on an autobiographical novel. In 1991 John O=Brien, the author of the novel upon which the screenplay is based, committed suicide two weeks after selling the rights to his book. The movie, which was written and directed by Mike Figgis, does not romanticize the story of the alcoholic Ben (Nicholas Cage) but it does stress the relationship he develops with the prostitute Sera (Elizabeth Shue) as the core of the film.
Ben is an alcoholic screen writer who decides to drive to Las Vegas and drink himself to death after losing his wife, family and job; his severance pay makes his decision possible. The details of his alcoholism are not made clear and as Ben puts it, "I'm not sure if I lost my family because of my drinking, or if I'm drinking because I lost my family." Ben is a human wreck and he continues to consume alcohol despite the destructive consequences. The film does not shy away from showing the grimness of Ben's situation. He has bouts of the shakes, stomach cramps, vomiting, hearing voices and a general decline in health. In one scene he tries to get a check cashed but has the shakes so bad that he is unable to sign the check. After a few drinks, he returns self-assured and is able to sign his name. Ben's ruinous and desultory lifestyle does not bother him since his goal is to drink himself to death in a four to five week period. "Killing myself is a way of drinking," Ben says. Before he moves in with Sera, he forewarns her, "You can never, ever, ask me to stop drinking." Her answer is, "I know." And she does. But she considers him a fallen angel who needs to be cared for and by caring for him, she finds redemption. For Ben, there is no redemption. His only concern is his drunken descent to death.
Although both characters are pathetic and desperate, they are also gentle and sweet, and they are ...