Leaving Las Vegas
Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
Despite its limited budget of $3.6M, Leaving Las Vegas became a box office phenomenon, earning $49.8M worldwide—a remarkable 1283% return. The film's compelling narrative attracted moviegoers, showing that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
1 Oscar. 32 wins & 30 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995) exemplifies precise dramatic framework, characteristic of Mike Figgis's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 51 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.7, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Ben Sanderson
Sera
Yuri
Main Cast & Characters
Ben Sanderson
Played by Nicolas Cage
A Hollywood screenwriter who has lost everything to alcoholism and travels to Las Vegas with the intention of drinking himself to death.
Sera
Played by Elisabeth Shue
A compassionate prostitute who forms an unconventional relationship with Ben, accepting him without trying to change him.
Yuri
Played by Julian Sands
Sera's abusive pimp who controls her life through violence and intimidation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Ben Sanderson stumbles through a liquor store, loading a shopping cart with bottles of alcohol, establishing his severe alcoholism and isolation in Los Angeles.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Ben is fired from his Hollywood screenwriting job. His boss gives him a severance check, acknowledging they've covered for his drinking as long as they could. Ben's last tie to normal society is severed.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 28 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Ben arrives in Las Vegas with his severance money and a singular purpose: to drink himself to death. He nearly runs over Sera with his car, their first fateful meeting on the Strip. He has crossed into his final journey., moving from reaction to action.
At 56 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat Sera tells Ben she loves him. He responds that she can never ask him to stop drinking. They establish the tragic terms of their relationship - a false victory where love exists but cannot save either of them. Their connection is real but built on the acceptance of his death., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 83 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, After Ben brings the prostitute to their home, Sera tells him he has to leave. Simultaneously, Sera is gang-raped by college students she picked up, leaving her brutalized. Both characters hit their absolute lowest point - Ben expelled from his only refuge, Sera violated and alone., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 89 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Sera receives a call that Ben is dying. Despite everything, she goes to him. She chooses to be present for his death, accepting that she cannot save him but can offer him love in his final moments. This is her synthesis - loving without conditions or expectations., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Leaving Las Vegas's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Leaving Las Vegas against these established plot points, we can identify how Mike Figgis utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Leaving Las Vegas within the drama genre.
Mike Figgis's Structural Approach
Among the 3 Mike Figgis films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.3, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Leaving Las Vegas takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Mike Figgis filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include After Thomas, South Pacific and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. For more Mike Figgis analyses, see Cold Creek Manor, Internal Affairs.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Ben Sanderson stumbles through a liquor store, loading a shopping cart with bottles of alcohol, establishing his severe alcoholism and isolation in Los Angeles.
Theme
Ben's colleague at the film production company awkwardly tells him "You're like a cut off branch that is withering away" - articulating the film's theme of self-destruction and the impossibility of being saved from oneself.
Worldbuilding
We witness Ben's deteriorating life in LA: his alcoholism destroying his career, his estrangement from his ex-wife and son, and his complete inability to function without drinking. Sera is introduced working as a prostitute under the violent control of pimp Yuri.
Disruption
Ben is fired from his Hollywood screenwriting job. His boss gives him a severance check, acknowledging they've covered for his drinking as long as they could. Ben's last tie to normal society is severed.
Resistance
Ben liquidates his life - burning photographs, selling possessions, cutting all ties to his past. He makes the deliberate decision to go to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. Sera continues her dangerous life with Yuri, who is growing paranoid about Polish mobsters.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Ben arrives in Las Vegas with his severance money and a singular purpose: to drink himself to death. He nearly runs over Sera with his car, their first fateful meeting on the Strip. He has crossed into his final journey.
Mirror World
Ben hires Sera for the night but only wants companionship, not sex. They connect over dinner as two broken people recognizing something in each other. Sera becomes the mirror to Ben's self-destruction - someone equally damaged who offers unconditional acceptance.
Premise
Ben and Sera develop their unlikely relationship. She invites him to live with her, accepting his alcoholism without trying to change him. They share moments of tenderness amid his drinking - shopping trips, conversations, a desert excursion. Meanwhile, Yuri is killed by the Polish mob, freeing Sera but leaving her adrift.
Midpoint
Sera tells Ben she loves him. He responds that she can never ask him to stop drinking. They establish the tragic terms of their relationship - a false victory where love exists but cannot save either of them. Their connection is real but built on the acceptance of his death.
Opposition
Ben's deterioration accelerates. His drinking causes public humiliations - he's thrown out of casinos, collapses in public. Sera struggles with her promise not to interfere. Ben brings a prostitute home, devastating Sera. Their fragile arrangement begins to crack under the weight of his death wish.
Collapse
After Ben brings the prostitute to their home, Sera tells him he has to leave. Simultaneously, Sera is gang-raped by college students she picked up, leaving her brutalized. Both characters hit their absolute lowest point - Ben expelled from his only refuge, Sera violated and alone.
Crisis
Sera recovers alone in her apartment, evicted by her landlord who blames her for the attack. Ben checks into a seedy motel, drinking himself toward death. Both are utterly isolated, their brief connection severed. Sera recounts events to her therapist in voiceover, processing the impossibility of saving someone who doesn't want to be saved.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Sera receives a call that Ben is dying. Despite everything, she goes to him. She chooses to be present for his death, accepting that she cannot save him but can offer him love in his final moments. This is her synthesis - loving without conditions or expectations.
Synthesis
Sera finds Ben in his motel room, near death. She climbs into bed with him, holding him as he fades. They make love one final time - a last moment of human connection before death. Ben asks if she will talk to him while he sleeps. She stays with him through the night.
Transformation
Ben dies in Sera's arms. In voiceover, Sera tells her therapist that she loved Ben and that he loved her. The final image mirrors the opening isolation but with a crucial difference - Ben did not die alone, and Sera learned she was capable of loving someone unconditionally, even knowing she couldn't save them.