Review of Requiem for a Dream (2000) by Allen G — 18 Apr 2016

Whilst it borders on becoming a little too 'MTV' (what that means makes sense to me, at least), 'Requiem For A Dream' has more than enough gusto and originality to get away with its endlessly dark and moody storytelling.

The performances are strong, though no one really stood out- likely because of the majority of the film's subdued nature. However, when it does build up Burstyn delivers something memorable and fascinating.

Really, it was Sara Goldfarb's story that kept me engaged and interested here and I think it easily made up for some of the film's weaker points. It would be very easy for a film taking itself this seriously to be nothing but a complete joke and whilst, this possibly comes somewhat close at times, it never actually ends up there and I think that's a credit to Aronofsky's direction- this isn't a film trying to be cool, it's just legitimately cool at times. The way he captures frantic addictive tendencies is a real technical achievement and it makes up for some of the script's, quite generic, interpretations of these same concepts.

Deserving of its cult status but still just a little too nineties if we're being honest (though I believe it's technically a film of the noughties but, facts are irrelevant).