Requiem for a Dream (Director's Cut)

Requiem for a Dream is a hard film to watch, there is no denying it. I first saw it at a matinee show on a bright sunny day in St. Louis. As I emerged from the Tivoli theatre into the daylight, it seemed impossible that the beauty of the day around me could possibly coexist in the same world as the bleak degradation that the characters in this movie descend into. Since I bought the DVD, I have been avoiding it for weeks, unsure if it was worth facing that descent. It was. Despite being a emotion bonecrusher, the quality of this film is undeniable. Darren Aronofsky has kept his touch for depicting the extremity of human emotion that he demonstrated in Pi. In Requiem, however he makes the characters so rich and engaging that the viewer is drawn along on their voyage of self destruction. This is a big improvement. One of the biggest flaws in Pi was that we have no reason to identify with the obsessive main character. In Requiem, each of the main characters is sympathetic and three-dimensional. It's this that makes the film so traumatizing. Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) is a lonely widow living alone in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. She spends her days watching television, particularly the infomercial snake oil of Tappy Tibbons (Christopher McDonald), a guru who sells a three step program to rebuild your life. One day she receives a phone call telling her that she has been chosen to appear on television. Filled with excitement, she tries to make herself over for her appearance on TV, which rapidly becomes her one reason for living. When she finds she can no longer fit into her best red dress, she starts dieting like crazy, with little success. When an unethical doctor prescribes her heavy stimulants, however, the weight starts coming off, although the side effects put Sara on the edge of madness. Watching this sweet and lonely old lady fall into drug addiction and obsession is very hard. As madness starts to creep in, Sara spends her days hallucinating in front of the television and huddling in mortal fear of the refrigerator. Harry Goldfarb(Jared Leto) is Sara's son, a heroin addict who repeatedly steals his mother's television to finance his habit. He and his partner Tyrone Love (Marlon Wayans) are scrambling to climb the ladder of the drug underworld from addict to affluent dealer. While at first glance they look like a couple of scum bags, as we get to know them, they become more sympathetic. Harry is a considerate guy who wants the best for his mother and regrets the pain he causes her. Tyrone's thoughts continuously drift back to his own mother in idyllic flashbacks of his youth. Marion Silver (Jennifer Connely) is a young girl from a rich family who wants to design clothing for a living. She and Harry are in love, and together they scheme to turn Harry's drug profits into a chance for her to open a store to sell her own designs. Marion is also entangled in an unwholesome relationship with her sleazy former therapist. Despite this and her cocaine habit, the depths of which she seems unaware of, she seems like a decent person. The scenes of her and Harry together are sweet and endearing. They make us wish the best for this young couple. The fact that they share these moments in a fog of drug-induced euphoria seems almost irrelevant, thanks to Aronofsky's skilled staging, and fine performances by the Connely and Leto. As the film progresses, the hopes and dreams of the four characters are slowly strangled by their dependence on drugs. As despair encroaches on their future plans, they scramble to hold it all together. By the final sequence, the characters' degradation accelerates out of control like a runaway train. Aided immensely by the feverish compositions of the Kronos Quartet, this is one of the most disturbing sequences I've ever seen on film. Technically, this film is very well executed. Sara's nightmarish hallucinations leave the viewer shaken. The time lapse sequences convey a very believable sense of how out of control a speed addict must feel. Aronofsky uses strange perspectives to great effect. In particular, he seemingly hangs a camera from the character's neck at times, to catch every nuance of expression at their moment of greatest shame. I have to recommend this movie, but I warn you, it will not make you feel good. It will probably make you feel like humans are weak and foul things. Choose well when to watch, or risk ruining a light-hearted evening...

This movie is a great piece of art and is really disturbing. Its depiction of society and drugs, lifehardcore and where we find meaning is really a big part of what this masterful directer did in this film. Be prepared to be disturbed and I wouldn't reccomend for someone under the age of 21 unless you want to just scare them about drug use and have them seeing a shrink due to the trauma for the rest of there life. A lot of triggers in this movie regard drug use as well as mental health, if those types of triggers are an issue for you, I would avoid as its just a really hardcore movie. Quite the piece of art though, Bravo! I still remember the first time I watched this and that was like 20 years ago. Like I will never forget my reaction and others.

The first thing that needs to be said is that REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is honest and raw. Nothing is held back here. It is not a story told to lightly touch on the subject of addiction. Instead the entire film is living in the life of an addict with nothing held back. Being in recovery I see how true to life this film is. It starts right off with our main characters using. We have Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly all giving the performances of a lifetime. The characters are likable and shown in enough of a perspective that we can care for them but the downward spiral that will continue throughout the fim begins right at the start. Jared and Jennifer are boyfriend and girlfriend shooting up to escape, get a high or just relax. Ellen Burstyn is the mother who goes to the doctor to get pills to help loose weight. All starts innocent enough but the film quickly turns into the never ending descent into hell that is the life of an addict. It realistically shows how what one thinks is a chosen act for escape becomes a psychological and physical addiction for which the user will do anything. The hell they endure is self inflicted but they cannot stop due to the addiction. This movie is scarier than any thriller or stalker film for it is about real life. Many don't want to see or even imagine the life of a true drug addict and the ends to which our characters go to get their drug gets more and more horrific as the film goes on. The scariest part of it is that it is all a realistic portrayal of the life of an addict. There is no joy here. The film is a descent into hell and it ends with a wallop. For most one viewing will be enough for this film. It is a masterpiece but how often does one choose to go to hell. On the other side, this film truly is a masterpiece. Even though it is 10 years old it is the most honest, realistic depiction of drug addiction ever on film. The reason to view this film again is the amazing performances by the main three and the superb directing by Darren Aronofsky. The blu ray transfer is amazing. You would never guess that the film is 10 years old and the transfer makes all the colors crisper and video more vivid. The audio is amazing. Bottom line, the blu ray transfer holds strong to the integrity of the film. It is grainy where need be and the clarity to the rest brings the message and horror of this film that much stronger. I highly recommend this film. Be prepared and aware of what you will be viewing. This is a tough fim to watch - bottom line. But it is an amazing film and when a film so honestly and truthfully tackles such a difficult subject you must view it. And as I said, you will be so awe struck by the performances that you may want to view it again. The blu ray version is superb. The film is hardcore and an experience you will never forget. Highly recommend.

This is one hell of a bleak film, but as long as you can watch it (some people I know couldn’t sit through it), it is an absolute masterpiece. It’s an adaption of a book by Hubert Selby Jr. about the various addictions of four people (an elderly widow, her son, his girlfriend and his best friend) , be they to drugs, television, or even the hope of a better tomorrow, in Brooklyn, New York. So far, so Trainspotting you might think. However, the two films are actually very different, not least in terms of visual style. In this aspect, Requiem For A Dream is streets ahead of it’s British counterpart. The director Darren Aronofsky, a native of Brooklyn himself, has done a first class job here, using a variety of different techniques, including split screens, time lapse photography and speeded up montages. In the commentary on the DVD, he said he wanted to avoid making an MTV-style film, but that’s what it looks like. This is by no means a criticism, though, the film looks absolutely fantastic, but I see no sense in denying its style. As well as the superb cinematography, the film also contains some superb performances from its four stars Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn, Jennifer Connolly and Marlon Wayans. Indeed, Burstyn was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar, though she didn’t win. It is also nice to see Leto in a role where he has more to do than look handsome. This film is not one to watch when you are feeling a bit down, as it is not in the least bit cheery. I promise it will make you feel worse, as it is heartbreakingly sad to see the lives of the protagonists completely unravelling before their eyes, whilst they keep believing things are soon going to get better. Things don’t get better, they reach rock bottom for all of the characters. No redemption, no happy ending, just one of the best films of the last ten years. Absolutely essential.

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Jeden z najważniejszych filmów maralnego niepokoju… każdy dzieciak powinien go obejrzeć na etapie dojrzewania. Na długo zostaje w glowie. Darren Aronofsky na najwyższym poziomie

ホラーと言っていいのか、正直迷いますが 恐ろしさという点では、まさしくホラーです。 薬物でおかしくなっていく様は、リアルなだけに肌に直接刺さってくるような 神経に迫ってくる恐怖ですね。 アイドルだったジェニファー・コネリーが・・・! 体当たり、責められ具合がトラウマになるほど強烈です。鼻血ものです。 これだけでも別の意味で持ってたほうがいい作品です。 しかし、ホント、こわいねぇ～・・・