Feature Movie Description... continued.
Leaving Las Vegas - 1995
Ben Sanderson (Cage) is a depressed alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who has lost everything due to his incessant drinking. After finally losing his family and his job, he rids himself of all his possessions, and decides to commit suicide by alcohol consumption in Las Vegas. After arriving, he meets Sera (Shue), a prostitute, and a deep friendship and understanding develops between them. Their relationship, however, is ultimately doomed. Sera has to promise Ben that she will never ask him to stop drinking. Ben, on the other hand, is not allowed to criticize Sera's occupation. At first the two are generally stable, Ben states that he is "totally at ease with this." (Sera's prostitution). However, after spending some time together, they both become more and more frustrated with the other's behavior. Over time, Sera attempts to get Ben to eat more healthily but sadly Ben refuses to even notice these actions as he stumbles for more alcohol. Finally, one night, Sera becomes so fed up with Ben's alcoholism that she begs him to go see a doctor. Ben, furious but far too intoxicated (possibly brain damaged at this point in the film, due to his increasingly incoherent speech patterns) to express his feelings, goes out and sleeps with another woman. After which, Sera finally throws Ben out and returns to her life of prostitution, wherein she is anally raped and beaten by three teenagers. After being evicted, Sera finally receives a telephone call from Ben, who is on his deathbed. She goes to visit Ben, and they make love before he dies. Throughout the movie the scene will switch over to Sera who is explaining what "happened" to Ben (although throughout the movie the audience is not certain if Ben truly dies or not). In the end we discover that she is explaining the story to an unknown person (most likely a therapist) of Ben's (and hers) sad tale.