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Mr. Jones (Richard Gere) is a man suffering from bipolar disorder, a disease that affords him periods of intense emotional pleasure and expansiveness but which also results in periods of suicidal depression. Libbie (Lena Olin), a doctor at a psychiatric hospital, takes an interest in his condition, and also in him--after all, he's intelligent, perceptive, and charming. Mr. Jones likes her, also, and puts enough trust in her to allow himself to be treated. But the longer he spends at the hospital, the more he misses the soaring highs that are a part of the man he considers himself to be. Gere's performance is a risky one; he researched the role, but mostly relies on the natural magnetism that has made him such a popular actor to show just how wonderful the "up" Mr. Jones is, and hence what is at stake in his treatment. In creating such a role, director Mike Figgis gives a hint of things to come, since LEAVING LAS VEGAS is also the story of a man who would rather not compromise, and rests on a similarly audacious central performance.
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