A gruelling descent into the abyss of human despair, this brilliantly acted but terminally depressing film leaves a nasty aftertaste - and not just of booze. Ben (Nicolas Cage), inevitably fired from his job because of his alcoholism, heads for the world's gambling capital where he reckons he can drink himself to death inside a month. He pairs up with a prostitute (Elisabeth Shue), but few will expect a happy ending here and it duly fails to arrive. Cage is horrifyingly good and won the year's Oscar for best actor. Shue, Oscar nominated, is a revelation. Hardly a light evening's viewing, though; the whole thing's a sobering experience. And, on a macabre note, after selling the rights to his book, author John O'Brien committed suicide.

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