Requiem for a Dream Directed by: Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky refuses to sugarcoat his films. His debut film, Pi, was gritty, insane and groundbreaking. It's a very intelligent film, and was designed for an audience who is awake to what's happening on screen. Aronofsky has no problem keeping the audience awake with his loud sophomore cinematic achievement, Requiem for a Dream. Rarely does a film revolving around a theme of addiction cover the necessary ground of making the viewer sympathize, and possibly empathize as well, for the characters. Trainspotting was too much fun, and it was more about pulling scams than recovering from them. Requiem for a Dream pulls out all the punches, but doesn't let you off in the end feeling clean and safe. I left this film feeling emotionally bombed. I was depressed for hours afterwards and images from the film stuck with me for days. This film is pure emotion, and simply pure cinema. The ratings board didn't want people to see this film. They gave the film the albatross known as un-rated, or better known as un-releasable or un-bankable. Every teenager should be required to see a film of this caliber before they graduate from high school, or before they are allowed to drop out. The film is essentially about dropping out from life, and following pipe dreams. The audience is thrust into the sad world of four characters, all who have a game plan destined for doomsday. Sara Goldfarb, an elderly woman played tirelessly by Ellen Burstyn, dreams of being a somebody, preferably a Television Star somebody, and takes all the diet pills needed to look the look of a somebody. She's old, withered, and ugly. Sara doesn't fit in any of her old dresses and her hair is a bird's nest. She believes diet pills are the keys to happiness. Jared Leto plays her son, Harry, a skinny kid with permanent bags under his eyes. He pawns his mother's television set for drug money while she hides in the bathroom from him. Later, after he makes some money selling the drugs instead of using them, he buys her a brand new deluxe set as a sign of compassion. Harry constantly scams his girlfriend Marion, played by Jennifer Connelly, for drug money as well. She has dreams of being a fashion designer but drugs glue her to the couch, making her unable to operate, let alone design. Harry's shoot up buddy Tyrone is played wonderfully by Marlon Wayans, and everything in his world is far from being In Living Color. The film revolves around the decline of all four characters, as the gloomy world of being overtaken by an addiction becomes an inescapable nightmare. Sara Goldfarb pops diet pills like tic-tacs, and Aronofsky skillfully uses montage sequences that form a beat. It's a sad ritual as the old woman that only wants to be beautiful again turns into a living skeleton and finally breaks her body down completely. There are several scenes in Requiem for a Dream that are hard to watch, especially several scenes of Leto's character shooting up into his arm which has started to rot away. It helps seal the message though. Aronofsky wisely starts off slow and picks up the pace. The last twenty minutes is almost all quick cuts of the interweaving dismay of the characters. I found myself wanting to look away and felt queasy at points. This is pure cinema, pure form. Aronofsky knows how to manipulate the images the audience is watching in hopes of making people come to a realization. The world of addiction is the waiting room to Hell, and Aronofsky gives us a glimpse inside a life that most of society tries to ignore. Honorable nods to all involved in the making of this monumental film. Check out this film's website at: www.requiemforadream.com |
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