Requiem For a Dream [R]

In the summer, four people began their quest to achieve the dream of a better life; but it came at a terrible price and by terrible means. Middle-aged Sara’s loneliness resulted in her dependence on one TV show and dangerous diet pills. Her wayward son Harry and his best friend Tyrone sought to sell drugs, but end up getting jazzed on their own supply. And Harry’s girlfriend Marion sees her dream of a career in fashion design destroyed by her addiction to cocaine. 

Not since Days of Wine and Roses have we seen a movie that so painfully and brutally conveys the dangerous extremes of addiction. Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem For a Dream is a bold, brutal, emotionally dramatic, and sometimes frightening look at the nightmarish world of drug addiction. This is not trippy Alice In Wonderland or Imaginarium type stuff, this right here is stone cold and brutal reality of what can happen when addictions are indulged and unchecked. Armed with intelligent ideas, fantastic editing tricks, nightmarish music, and incredible performances, Requiem For a Dream is an incredible movie, both compelling and shocking. 

In the summer, four people began their quest to achieve the dream of a better life; but it came at a terrible price and by terrible means. Middle-aged Sara’s loneliness resulted in her dependence on one TV show and dangerous diet pills. Her wayward son Harry and his best friend Tyrone sought to sell drugs, but end up getting jazzed on their own supply. And Harry’s girlfriend Marion sees her dream of a career in fashion design destroyed by her addiction to cocaine. 

From the first drama of the row between mother and son, you’re completely and utterly entranced. 

The editing is something that really deserves an accolade in this movie because it’s entirely original and forcibly creates a dizzying and nightmarish atmosphere that is the world of drug addiction. The use of split screens, fast-tracked speaking, overdubbing, repetition, and jagged and quick close-ups successfully engage the audience as well as creates the horrific atmosphere of the drug trip sequences. 

And the music to match! I have not been so scared of music since the theme to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which used to freak me out to no end when I was little. 

All the performances were astonishing, but without a doubt Ellen Burstyn who plays Sara took the cake. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress but was beaten out by Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich. !?. I ask you! I don’t mean any disrespect to the actress or her fans, but in what universe can that happen? Ellen’s performance was absolutely spellbinding, bringing sickness to the heart and tears to the eyes. If for no other reason, this movie should be watched just for her performance! 

Starring Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, and Keith David, Requiem For a Dream is an astonishing movie filled with drugs, trips, dependence, nightmarish hallucinations, romance, drama, and some sickening addiction results equally as fear-inducing as any suspenseful horror or slasher movie. Words cannot describe the power of this movie, and this is from the director who later brought us Black Swan!