Continuity mistake: When Nicholas Cage is in the pool and in a couple of other scenes where he is wearing a shirt you can clearly see a tattoo on his back, but when filmed without a shirt the tattoo is gone. A lot of conversations. [26] The soundtrack also included three jazz standards performed by Sting and excerpts of dialogue from the film. On his second day in Las Vegas, Ben looks for Sera, introduces himself, and offers her $500 to come to his room for an hour. Your email address will not be published. Shortly afterward, Sera is approached by three college students at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. So Romantic. When I watched this scene, I knew that Cages performance was more than just pretending to be drunk; this was an actor who understood the nuances of addiction, and how to make that torture appear and feel alarmingly real. The woman's name is Sera (Elisabeth Shue). [17], Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times and Rick Groen from The Globe and Mail gave the film high marks. [11] Filming took place over 28 days.[12]. The strange thing about Leaving Las Vegas is, despite the terrible subject matter, the love story is genuinely touching. After losing his family and job, Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage) moves to Las Vegas to slowly drink himself to death. The website's critical consensus reads, "Oscar-awarded Nicolas Cage finds humanity in his character as it bleeds away in this no frills, exhilaratingly dark portrait of destruction. For obvious reasons, bottle labels had to be changed or reversed. [27] The soundtrack also included three jazz standards performed by Sting and excerpts of dialogue from the film. Sera agrees, but Ben does not want sex. If there are two unplayable roles in the stock repertory, they are the drunk and the whore with a heart of gold. The pimp is soon out of the picture, and "Leaving Las Vegas" becomes simply the story of two people. Available to host your next spooky public access show. But also a strangely upbeat film. There's a scene where Caruso leaves the titty bar, and he gives an explanation to a random extra when question. He goes to Vegas, and there on the street he meets a prostitute, who takes him in and cares for him, and he calls her his angel. She catches a whiff of his breath: "You've been drinking all day." : As Acclaim Grows and Distribution Widens, 'Vegas' Seeks Mainstream Respect, Oscar Nominations Are Just One Surprise After Another, How Nicolas Cage Gambled on 'Vegas' -- and Came Up Big, Ebert & Scorsese: Best Films of the 1990s.