Director of Leaving Las Vegas and Timecode.
Leaving Las Vegas (1995) -- Great movie. A lesser movie -- if it could have come up with the brilliant premise of a man who resolves to drink himself to death in the first place -- would have had the magic woman come in and save him, but this one doesn't, and their love for each other is shown even moreso for that reason. In addition to the consistency of greatness in story and character throughout, the movie takes other risks along the way, such as the shift of point of view from Nicolas Cage to Elisabeth Shue after the first half hour or so of the movie or the fifteen minute pre-credit sequence. Cage's appropriately over-the-top performance (he finally gets to be himself and get away with it) works perfectly with Shue's subtle performance. And to top it all off, the movie is really funny. A
Copyright (c) Jun 2006 by Rusty Likes Movies