Hollywood directors really dislike serious self-destructive drunks unless they can be transformed into either comic or tragic figures. Actors and directors often use drinking and cigarette as props to occupy actors' hands-revealing more of the preoccupations of directors and writers than of actors. Yet, in my database, there are almost enough films keyed to the word alcoholic to justify naming a genre of “drunk films.” It is a daunting task to put an exclamation mark on a genre, but something new has been added by director-musician Mike Figgis in his 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas.