Leaving Las Vegas

Friday, May 14 - Saturday, May 15, 2010

“Ben Sanderson, played devastatingly by Nicolas Cage in LEAVING LAS VEGAS, is something other than the usual movie drunk. Nothing about him offers golden opportunities to the good Samaritan. Already in the terminal stages of alcoholism as the film begins, Ben seems to sense his fate and want to face it in his own way, with crazy bravado and a whiff of desperate romance. This small, searing film watches transfixingly as Ben plays out his final hand… without overworking the pathos of Ben’s situation, LEAVING LAS VEGAS fully conveys the health risks of gulping vodka in the shower, crashing onto a glass coffee table or otherwise lurching through life with Ben’s particular abandon. A man who spends $500 for a prostitute’s hourlong visit to his $29 hotel room (with ‘complimentary bar of soap’ and lucky aces over the headboard) is a man beyond caring about the future.” – Janet Maslin, New York Times

• Country USA/France/UK
• Rating R
• Year 1995
• Running Time 111 min. minutes
• Director Mike Figgis

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.