Perfect embodiment of drug use in the format of film.

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2010)

9.3
Requiem For A Dream is a very powerful movie. It is powerful in more than one way. Both thematically, and artistically, the movie captures the correct atmosphere and mood of the subject matter. The pacing and editing also fit the theme well. Everything is seamed together in this movie, and nothing falls out of place.
If you've ever taken drugs, especially heroine, but not limited to, you will immediately connect with Requiem For A Dream and its characters. It seems like Aronofsky and his crew tried to capture the essence of drug use into film format, while telling a story about the pitfalls and traps of drug use, whether it be for medical reasons, or for pleasure. They succeeded. What we have here is a movie that embodies the drug its tale is based upon. Like heroine, the user immediately feels pleasure once the substance is introduced to the bloodstream, the user is raised high into a state of euphoria. In the first half hour, the movie is mellow and pleasurable to watch, but not without its cringes. After a while, the effects start to dwindle. The drug drops you from your hedonistic height, and eventually the user is left feeling lower than sobriety. The climax of the movie leaves you feeling disturbed, if not disgusted, at the physical, psychological and even spiritual effects of drug use.
Aronofsky and crew utilize quick cuts, multiple frames at once, and even odd camera positioning techniques to put you into the shoes of the characters, to help you feel their despair, and their euphoria as well. The pacing and the atmosphere in this film are some of the best that I've seen in film-making. I wouldn't say that the film is one of the greatest of all time, but it's definitely an achievement that solidified Aronofsky and Mansell as filmmakers in my eyes.