Requiem For A Dream
Movies about drug addiction can typically be characterized as downbeat, gloomy, depressing and difficult to watch. But Daron Aronofsky's Requiem For A Dream is directed with such panache and acted with such proficiency that it adds a few other adjectives to the experience: exhilarating, stunning, fascinating and unforgettable. Keep that in mind next time you consider passing on this brilliant film just because you're afraid it will be too "depressing" (a mistake I'm still kicking myself for making while the film was in theaters).
Requiem For A Dream follows the plight of four people whose lives are demolished by drugs: Harry (Jared Leto), his mom Sara (Ellen Burstyn), his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) and his best friend and partner-in-crime Tyrone (Marlon Wayans).
These characters all have their hopes and dreams, but drug addiction ultimately prevents them from achieving their aspirations. This theme is as old as it gets, but Aronofsky's brilliant direction prevents the subject matter from ever becoming trite. Aronofsky first burst onto the scene in 1999 with Pi, a visually hypnotic mindbender about a mathematical genius that was shot in black-and-white for just $30,000.
With Requiem For A Dream, Aronofsky shows no signs of compromising his artistic vision. Teaming with cinematographer Matthew Libatique, Aronofsky creates images that will linger in your mind for weeks. These images capture the experience of drug-induced hallucination in startling fashion, culminating with a horrifying sequence in which Ellen Burstyn begins to crack under the strain of her addiction.
Speaking of Burstyn, her performance is quite simply one of the bravest, most compelling that I've ever seen. After earning Oscar nominations for such '70s classics as The Exorcist, The Last Picture Show, and Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Burstyn has fallen below the radar for most of the past 20 years. As Sara, a lonely widow with a deadbeat son whose only means of regaining a sense of self-importance is to appear on a T.V. game show, Burstyn's gradual descent into diet pill addiction is wrenching. Her heartbreaking, devastating performance should have easily beat out Julia Roberts' Academy Award winning turn in Erin Brockovich. Is there really anyone out there who has seen both Requiem and Brockovich and thinks Roberts deserved the Oscar over Burstyn? If so, please write and enlighten me.
Leto, continuing a streak of interesting role choices since coming to fame on the cult T.V. show "My So Called Life," is dynamite as a junkie/drug dealer with a good heart but an unhealthy addiction. Connelly sheds her nothing-but-a-pretty-face image with a gritty portrait of a woman who will do anything in a desperate attempt to get drugs (including forming an unholy sexual alliance with the slimy Sean Guillette, star of Pi). Wayans, considered a bad joke by this critic after his embarrassingly inept hosting of MTV's Music Awards, redeems himself with a surprisingly effective dramatic performance that's miles removed from Scary Movie slapstick.
The performances and Aronofsky's phenomenal direction reach a feverish climax in the film's brutal final 20 minutes, as Aronofsky expertly segues between the lives of the four lead characters, raising the horrific tension to unbearable levels with the help of Clint Mansell's brilliant score. Their final fate will leave you hypnotized, shaken and stunned. Put simply, Requiem knocked me on my ass. I can't wait to see it again.
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After seeing this movie, it's unlikely you'll want to go anywhere near any mind-altering substances.
While you might be encouraged by the pairing of hotties Leto and Connelly, let me assure you that you won't be getting busy after the film's grim finale.
Buy this movie from Amazon.com
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