I am sitting in the Mirage hotel on the world famous Las Vegas Strip considering which of the top 10 Vegas movies is my favorite and even with Elvis' Viva Las Vegas taken into account I have to pick Leaving Las Vegas. I have always been a big Nicholas Cage fan even though he can sometimes come across hammier than William Shatner at times. Movies like Wild at Heart, The Family Man and Matchstick Men are among my all time favorites and it was this very downbeat Vegas movie that won him the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1996.
This film was intense, depressing, hopeful and moving all at the same time and it greatly benefitted from the excellent performance given by Elizabeth Shue. Seeing the transformation of Cage's character, Ben Sanderson, a hollywood screenwriter that has lost his family and job to drink, turn into a man hell-bent on drinking himself to death was among the best performances I have seen.
Mike Figgis (Internal Affairs, Mr Jones, Hotel) does a stellar job is showing a side of Vegas that exists in reality but rarely on the movie screen and the classic theme song 'Angel Eyes' by Sting stays with you long after the movie is over.
So while my Vegas weekend is fortunately alot cheerier than this movie, I still consider it ahead of Casino, Swingers, Bugsy, The Cooler etc.
Rating: *****
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