Leaving Las Vegas - Movie Analysis

Addiction Movie Analysis – “Leaving Las Vegas”

SCI-163

Shannon Laing

April 3, 2017

Chapman

The movie I chose to analyze for the topic of addiction is “Leaving Las Vegas.”  This movie starred Nicholas Cage playing the part of Benjamin Sanderson an alcoholic, and Elizabeth Shue (Sera) as his prostitute girlfriend.  This was a 1995 film by Mike Figgis, which gave an Oscar to Nicholas Cage.  This movie was essentially a portrayal of an alcoholic intent on drinking himself to death, and Sera, a prostitute who has her own reasons for allowing the increasing mental and physical abuse brought forth by Cage’s character.  Leaving Las Vegas is based on a semi-autobiographical story of the same name by John O’Brien, an author who committed suicide by gunshot two weeks into the start of filming.  His father has described the book as a suicide note.  

• Explain what types of addiction were addressed and how the film’s characters became addicted, if known.

The main addiction in this movie is alcoholism.  This movie shows the inevitable decline of a man who has succumbed to the final stages of extreme alcohol addiction.  He no longer offers any resistance to the oblivion brought on by his addiction.  The movie never goes in depth into the reason(s) why Ben may have begun to use alcohol as an escape from a painful reality.  It shows a picture of a woman and a child, who we assume to be his wife and child, being thrown into a fire, implying that family collapse may have been a contributing factor to Ben’s overwhelming need to numb his emotions with alcohol.  

• How did this addiction physically affect the individuals involved?

The physical effects of extreme alcohol abuse on the body, is shocking and disturbing.  The first physical signs demonstrated in the movie were Ben’s inability to walk properly, or an unsteady gait.  This is rapidly followed by his loss of appetite, and his increasing number of blackouts.  After that came the withdrawal tremors and shakes, which are only temporarily relieved by more alcohol, and eventually, his final convulsions and cessation.  

• In what way did the addiction affect work and relationships?

Ben was fired a few scenes into the movie.  He didn’t seem to care too much, and the reasons his boss gave for his termination was; inconsistent behavior, unexcused absences, tardiness, lack of responsibility, and a general “don’t give a F%$@ attitude”.

 Ben’s addiction is what made him meet Sera.  He met Sera on his second day in Las Vegas. He offered her $500 to go to his hotel room, but he didn’t want sex, he just wanted to talk to someone.  Sera was very confused by this but was also in desperate need of a friend as well.  Their relationship was a rather simplified confusion.  She was never allowed to ask him to quit drinking and he promised that he would not berate her chosen profession.  She was lonely, he was on his way out.  I believe that they did fall in love throughout all of this.  As far as relationships went in this movie, this was the only one portrayed.