Leaving Las Vegas (Lost #5 of 5)

Genre: Love Story

Premise: Ben (a Hollywood type, his exact capacity however is unknown) goes to Las Vegas with the plans of drinking himself to death and befriends the prostitute, Sera. The two fall in love but the whole affair is ultimately doomed by Ben's drinking problem.

Writer: Novel by John O'Brien (very autobiographical, also wrote The Assault on Tony's) and Mike Figgis (Internal Affairs, Timecode)

About: Figgis loved the book and wrote the script. O'Brien died shortly before and cast a good tone for the film's theme.

When I was a teenager, I'd watch films I knew had alot of merits but often times missed the true value of due to my young age. Leaving Las Vega is a crowning example. I'm not even sure that I understand all the film's shades even now. Despite it's revelance to acoholism and suicidal impulses, this is not an uhappy film. Ultimately, what Leaving Las Vegas tells us is that love offers some solace in fighting the burdens of the world.

Like The Lost Weekend, the story revolves around Ben and his condityion. Furthermore, the loveable Sera is always trying to save him. The characters are so committed to their path of actions: Ben uncoils as the pages progress until he is pouring booze down his throat like an antidote to death. But the image of love offered up is neither a formulaic nor a predictable one. The love between Ben and Sera has no need, no expectations, but merely a bonding between two broken people. And, more importantly, there's an admiration for the purity of one another's gestures. Smartly, Ben's incentive to drink himself to death is never explained. It exists in the shadows. And that makes us committ to him as a character. And much like The Lost Weekend, it's not Ben but Sera or the love interest who shows the real depth. Ben is already firmly set on his trajectory to self destruction. This all makes sense seeing as the novel, Leaving Las Vegas, was later described as O'Brien's "Suicide Note".

Isla Roles: Isla would rock the Elizabeth Shue role, but it's so risque and deadpan I don't think she'd ever play this in a remake.

Tip: The saddest part about this whole damn script is its complexities. I had to watch this film several times before I got it all. But it's general structure is very heavily borrowed from The Long Weeekend: a boozer and the girl who loves him with a dark, messed up twist.