Review of Requiem for a Dream (2000) by Andrew M — 23 Feb 2014

At this point, it's safe to say that addiction truly is a disease. With heartbreaking news of deaths from overdose become a recurring part of our society, substance abuse has proved to be just as harmful as any other disease circulating Earth and infecting humanity. In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were approximately 29,000 unintentional drug overdose deaths in the United States alone. The harrowing results of such overdoses are the foundation of Darren Aronofsky's thrilling adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.'s Requiem for a Dream. And with phenomenal acting, a great script, and Aronofsky's spectacular visual style and directing, Requiem for a Dream couldn't be a better adaptation.

Requiem for a Dream follows a short time span of the lives of four Coney Island residents: Sara Goldfarb, her estranged son Harry Goldfarb, Harry's girlfriend Marion Silver , and Harry's best friend Tyrone C. Love. Being a drama based around drugs, each of the four protagonists faces their own addiction. Sara becomes addicted to amphetamine pills upon receiving upon receiving a phone call telling her she will be invited to appear on the infomercials she watches regularly, an entirely separate addiction of sorts. Meanwhile, Harry, Marion, and Tyrone face heroin addictions, and illegally sell drugs to earn money to fuel their addictions.

But like any drug addiction, it doesn't take long for things to take a turn for the worse and slowly spiral out of control. Sara's intense desire to lose weight for her television appearance leads to severe overdosing of amphetamines. Harry, Marion, and Tyrone are forced to find new ways to get their fix upon losing their hard earned drug trade profits. Not to mention that Harry suffers physical harm from improper heroin injection techniques, Marion suffers under hellish conditions to get her fix, and Tyrone is caught and arrested for his drug use.

As an adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.'s novel, Requiem for a Dream is adapted phenomenally. This comes mostly in part due to the fantastic screenwriting collaboration between Selby himself and director Darren Aronofsky. The results of such a pair are astounding, resulting in a brutal, intense story full of characters that you hate to see face such downfalls. Each character comes off as memorable and fascinating in their own way, making each of their inevitable demises all the more heart-breaking and saddening in the film's tear-jerking climax.

The quartet of actors in Requiem for a Dream really sell the film. In an Oscar nominated performance (as well as one many people expected to be a winner), Ellen Burstyn is the star of the show. Burstyn undergoes extremely drastic physical changes and puts up a truly amazing performance for a role that required so much dedication and effort. Jared Leto shines as her son Harry as well, standing out as a quite sympathetic character. Leto really studied up on the personalities and mentalities of heroin addicts, making his performance all the more accurate. Jennifer Connelly, always one to take up risky roles, knocks it out of the park, especially in the physically and mentally strenuous scenes towards the end of the film. Marlon Wayans, known mostly for his comedic roles, makes a surprisingly outstanding dramatic performance, something many people didn't know he was capable of.

Like the rest of Aronofsky's work, Requiem for a Dream benefits from his stunning directing style. To match the fast paced effects of drug use, Aronofsky uses quick montages that really bring out this concept. Just to get an idea of how fast paced the film is, consider this: the average movie contains 600 to 700 camera cuts; Requiem for a Dream contains well over 2000. Another effective technique Aronofsky uses regularly is a split-screen shot of two characters interacting within the same scene. Such a style often implies that even when the characters are side-by-side, they are still separated by their addictions. Not only is Requiem for a Dream thought-provoking, it's visually stunning as well. Paired with Clint Mansell's haunting score, Requiem for a Dream is quite a well-rounded piece of film.

Everything about Requiem for a Dream is exhilirating, haunting, and thrilling. Never has any director handled the downward spiral associated with drug abuse as masterfully as Aronofsky does with Requiem for a Dream. The performances are absolutely astounding, making for a quartet of sympathetic characters and situations. The brisk pace and quick cut montage scenes truly embody the use of drugs in real life. Film in general doesn't get much better than Requiem for a Dream.