THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 29, 1996 TAG: 9601270039
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
``LEAVING Las Vegas'' is a remarkably unsentimental film about oncoming death. With no regrets, and no lamentations, it deals with a world-weary acceptance of fate in a way that few films have ever attempted.
Worthwhile primarily for its two admirable performances, it is a relentlessly downward spiral that will leave the audience distraught and pained.
Nicolas Cage is a sure bet for this year's Oscar for his haunted performance as Ben Sanderson, a man who has simply given up, and is not ashamed of it.
In the opening scene, we see Ben wheeling his cart through a liquor store. He has the same energy as Julie Andrews in the opening scene of ``The Sound of Music,'' but that's a decidedly different story.
It is not long before Ben hits bottom - or near. Fired from his job as a Hollywood screenwriter, he decides to chuck it all, go to Las Vegas, and simply drink himself to death. (His doctors say that if he keeps it up, it'll take no more than four weeks.)
In the neon glitter of Vegas, Ben finds Sera while chugging a fifth of booze. She's a prostitute who has been abused by a Russian pimp (Julian Sands) who, fortunately, soon gets out of the movie and leaves it to be a two-character study.
As played by the usually wholesome Elisabeth Shue, Sera is knowing, yet sweet. She accepts him for what he is, not for what she might be able to change him into. This is a rare romance based on unconditional acceptance. He agrees that he'll not ask her to give up the streets if she doesn't ask him to give up the bottle.
A strange love of co-dependence develops. To prove that she isn't a crusader, she even gives him a silver hip flask as a gift. He moves out of his motley motel room into her apartment.
Director Mike Figgis, who both wrote the screenplay and composed the score, offers no solace for the audience. He is, rightfully, nominated for the Director's Guild Award, and is sure to be Oscar-nominated. So, for that matter, is Shue, who contributes a plucky performance without ever turning sweet.
The film was made on the cheap, and even shot in 16mm. The lack of production values only adds to the tawdry atmosphere of gambling, booze and debauchery.
The musical score features three standards, dramatically delivered by Sting - ``Angel Eyes,'' ``It's a Lonesome Old Town,'' and ``My One and Only Love.'' Cage even does a song he co-composed, ``Ridiculous.'' (That's the title of the song, not a judgment.)
The script is based on the novel written by real-life Hollywood screenwriter John O'Brien, who committed suicide two weeks before the film went into production.
If you expect a fun-time evening out at the movies, this is not your ticket. If you can take it, it is well worth the taking. The acting is superb. ILLUSTRATION: MOVIE REVIEW
``Leaving Las Vegas''
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands
Director and Writer: Mike Figgis, based on the novel by John
O'Brien
Music: Mike Figgis
MPAA rating: R (language, nudity)
Mal's rating: ***1/2
Locations: Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach
by CNB