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Leaving Las Vegas

Play trailer 2:49 Poster for Leaving Las Vegas R 1995 1h 51m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
91% Tomatometer 54 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Adapted from the novel by John O'Brien, this acclaimed drama follows alcoholic screenwriter Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage) as he drinks himself into oblivion in Las Vegas. When Ben meets the beautiful prostitute Sera (Elisabeth Shue), they strike up an unconventional relationship -- one where she can't ask him to curb his drinking, and he can't fault her for her job. Though they offer each other support, Ben's self-destruction threatens to eclipse their bond.
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Leaving Las Vegas

Leaving Las Vegas

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Critics Consensus

Oscar-awarded Nicolas Cage finds humanity in his character as it bleeds away in this no frills, exhilaratingly dark portrait of destruction.

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Critics Reviews

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David Ansen Newsweek Feb 23, 2018
A love story like no other, Mike Figgis's Leaving Las Vegas is a bleak, mesmerizing rhapsody of self-destruction, defiantly uninterested in peddling Hollywood-style uplift. Go to Full Review Candice Frederick Reel Talk Online Sep 12, 2017
B+
This movie was like watching a car crash in slow motion. You knew there was going to be a crash, but I just wished it would just happen already, and not have spent two hours getting to the impact. Go to Full Review Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Sep 7, 2011
A-
Dark and giddy at the same time, Leaving Las Vegas takes us into dreamy, intoxicated places no movie about an alcoholic has gone before. Go to Full Review EC Flamming Screen Slate Aug 21, 2026
Cage and Shue deliver impressive, dedicated performances, and Figgis narrowly avoids letting the film fall into anything too mawkish or exploitative. Go to Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com May 22, 2026
4/5
…there are no winners in this story, but that’s not to say that Leaving Las Vegas isn’t rewarding...Mike Figgis’ melancholy movie captures a poetry in the predicament of those dealt the harshest of lessons by luck and love…. Go to Full Review Jack Hawkins HeyUGuys May 19, 2026
3/5
Leaving Las Vegas is best viewed as a weepie melodrama with noirish aspirations rather than a serious observation of alcoholism. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Wiktor G @RT49881930 Oct 22, 2026 It was really hard to watch this movie, I think everyone should watch it though. I was having this weird and eerie feeling while watching, I didn’t want this to happen to the characters but it was happening anyway. See more Oaklee D @ODie63 Oct 18, 2026 A captivating yet tragic love story, it felt like Shakespeare that the two main characters in this film were meant to be yet at the same time doomed to fail. Can't recommend this enough. See more Andrew J @jynx2706 Sep 29, 2026 Glad I finally watched this... just heartbreaking. Well deserved Oscar for Cage See more Henry D @Henry_Domke Sep 12, 2026 Totally engaging from beginning to end. It has that rare combination of powerful acting, bold cinematography, a tragic story and an overlay of melancholy jazz that fits the mood perfectly. Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue are both terrific, and somehow make these damaged characters deeply sympathetic. Yes, it’s depressing, but strangely it doesn’t leave you feeling depressed. See more Antony B @RT29664284 Jul 28, 2026 Leaving Las Vegas is a bruised, beautiful dive into loneliness, addiction, and two people finding something like tenderness in the wreckage. It’s bleak without being hollow, with performances that feel painfully human and a strange, intoxicating atmosphere hanging over every frame. A devastating film, but also an unexpectedly compassionate one. The kind of story that leaves you staring at the credits in silence. See more Mireille T @RT34033469 Jul 1, 2026 Very well acted,raw,no pretense .This was my second time watching,it was still as mesmerising.At the end you need to comme out for air. See more Read all reviews
Leaving Las Vegas

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Cast & Crew

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Mike Figgis

Director

Nicolas Cage

Ben Sanderson

Elisabeth Shue

Sera

Julian Sands

Yuri

Richard Lewis

Peter

Valeria Golino

Terri

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Leaving Las Vegas

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Leaving Las Vegas

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Movie Info

Synopsis Adapted from the novel by John O'Brien, this acclaimed drama follows alcoholic screenwriter Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage) as he drinks himself into oblivion in Las Vegas. When Ben meets the beautiful prostitute Sera (Elisabeth Shue), they strike up an unconventional relationship -- one where she can't ask him to curb his drinking, and he can't fault her for her job. Though they offer each other support, Ben's self-destruction threatens to eclipse their bond.
Director
Mike Figgis
Producer
Annie Stewart, Lila Cazès
Screenwriter
John O'Brien, Mike Figgis
Distributor
United Artists, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co
Studio Canal, Initial Productions, Lumiere Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 27, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 4, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$29.9M
Runtime
1h 51m
Sound Mix
Surround
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