Review of Requiem for a Dream (2000) by Alexander_Fred — 18 Dec 2011

Afronsky creates quite a vivid picture here. His use of numerous film-making devices from close up action shots of everything from the dilation of a pupil to the sipping of a cup of coffee, sound effects that enhance the action, side by side panoramic shots, high speed action shots, and many other techniques all come together to truly allow the viewer to feel what the character feels, to experience his or her inebriation end ultimately despair as desire and withdrawal come into play in the latter half of the film.

At times such stylistic directing doesn't allow for character growth, but nonetheless when the characters are able to grow, they do so beyond measure. From simply desire of the drug and love for one another, they move to dependence and we see that become their only focus.

Then Afronsky shows us the deepest dark of addiction. From simple withdrawal to prison to prostitution to hospitalization and even to an amputation, the characters end in far different places and circumstances.

But nonetheless, in the end, all the characters face the same loneliness, the loneliness that comes when one has sacrificed all else for the drug that gives him nothing. This film takes different circumstances and ultimately brings them together in the most tragic of ways.

While not a perfect film, Afronsky proves that he is a director not to be reckoned with.