Review of Requiem for a Dream (2000) by Liam C — 11 Jan 2015

I'm happy that I've seen a Darren Aronofsky film that I liked the entirety of. Requiem for a Dream is an unforgettable drama with brutal, striking imagery and perfect acting.

I really like the story in this film, it just showed the lives of people who are on drugs and we get to watch what happens to them. I've heard some say it's hard to feel sorry for them when we don't know much about them and that the film doesn't offer us much to like about them but I don't really agree. It doesn't matter who it is, watching people suffer like this, whether or not it is their fault, is hard to watch and even if this happened to someone that you didn't like you'd feel sympathy for them. I felt sympathy for these characters and Sara Goldfarb's story in particular was the absolute worst and unbelievably tragic and seeing the way Ellen Burstyn changed in that role the more it went on was brilliant. Her storyline was also quite thought provoking and it makes the viewer ask quite a lot of interesting questions. The acting in this film is outstanding and all four of the lead actors are perfect in their roles and make their characters so compelling, even if the cast seems randomly chosen. Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly were brillIant and put so much work into their characters. Seeing Marlon Wayans in this film was great and he really showed what he can do when he is given great material to work with, I just wish he would do it more often because he is more than capable and only he could be in one of the best and worst films of a year.

The editing in this film has to be some of the best I've ever seen, it's simply amazing. Most films have 600 to 700 cuts and this has over 2000 and it's all done in an hour and forty minutes. Everything technical about this film is brilliant, the lighting is perfect, the cinematography is perfect and so much more. The film really draws you into the situations of the characters and puts you right in there with them. The makeup was also perfect and it was so realistic. The soundtrack to this film is certainly one of the factors that help make this work so well, besides the obvious one, the soundtrack is great and fits the film perfectly. However, while there are a lot of tracks, there didn't seem to be much track variety and, while effective and good, I kept hearing the same general ambient songs quite a few times and the theme, while powerful, did seem to be played a tad too often even if it worked extremly well every time, especially at the ending. Still though, it's a perfect and epic song and it is very memorable. How it didn't win an Oscar, much like the rest of the film, is beyond me.

There are many ways to interpret this film, one I really liked was how this film seems to be assembled like someone on drugs, which might seem obvious but even so, it's effective. First of all they're all over the place, a bit unsure, then there is that moment of peace where it looks like everything is going to work out and then to just come crashing back down into a living hell. There is a lot going on in this film and a lot to think about, it is a very smart film. Even the title is smart and unique. Having the original author write the screenplay is great and its bleak nature, like most of his works, was probably fuelled from his own life experiences. Darren Aronofsky does an excellent job directing here and has a tight grip over everything that happens and even when the chaos begins he knows exactly what he is doing.

This joins a long list of the best films you never want to see again not just because of how bleak it all is but a lot of the film, mostly the final act, are all about being as brutal and shocking as it can be and even though it will still be hard to watch if you watch it more than once, it obviously won't have the same effect the second time. My jaw was left hanging for most of the final act and after the credits, I've never seen a film, at the time of writing this, that made me feel the way this did before. I love how this film took risks and just told the story it wanted to. It didn't have an uplifting message at the end or something to relieve us of the tense situations, it just told its story as realistically as possible and held nothing back and because of that I love it even more. I really wish I could have seen this when it came out, it certainly would have been an interesting experience.

This film solidified Aronofsky's status as a confident director and this is amazing for his second feature. Some call it unsubtle, but I don't really know how the ramifications of taking drugs can be subtle. Requiem for a Dream is a brilliant film with perfect directing, acting and it fully accomplished what it set out to do, it pulled no punches and delivered its message in the best of ways and it's another film off the list. Well done Aronofsky, he should be proud and probably is. Hell, I'd be, but I'd be amazed if I made anything like this but anyway. An adaptation done perfectly, (funnily enough like the last film I saw, The Dead Zone). A masterpiece.