Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Directed by

Mike Figgis

Genre

drama film, erotic film, romance film

Country

France, United States

Runtime

1h 47m

Rated

R

Rating

7.3 of 10 from 1,675 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A suicidal alcoholic decides to move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. There he begins a romantic relationship with a prostitute.

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What happens

Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on the 1990 semi-autobiographical novel by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having lost his family and been recently fired, has decided to move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. Once there, he develops a romantic relationship with a prostitute (Elisabeth Shue). Leaving Las Vegas was filmed in super 16 mm instead of 35 mm film; while 16 mm was common for art house films at the time, 35 mm is most commonly used for mainstream film. After limited release in the United States on October 27, 1995, Leaving Las Vegas was released nationwide on February 9, 1996, receiving strong praise from critics and audiences with many lauding the performances from Cage and Shue, the tone, the themes and Figgis's direction and screenplay. Cage received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama and the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Shue was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama and the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film also received nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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