Devastating

Rating: Null/10 (2 March 2001)

"Requium for a Dream" cements Darren Aronofsky's place as one the truly great new directors of the new century, along with David Fincher and P.T. Anderson. This is a film that will shake and move you very, very deeply. In only his second film, Aranofsky illustrates his truly incredible command of the medium; this is the first film that, for me, managed to honestly and perfectly capture the psychology of a drug user via its images and sounds. The four main leads - Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Waynes and especially Ellen Burstyn- act with a sense of honesty and conviction that you very rarely see in cinema. Thier collective belief in the film and what it has to say is up there on the screen. Visually, this film is truly astonishing and proves that "Pi" was no fluke. Case in point: the split screen sequence with Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly ,post-sex, talking and saying how much they love each other. The way that the screen is split is a truly compelling and powerful foreshadow of the way that their relationship disintergrates once addiction takes hold. This is shown later in the film the way that Marion,hungry for a fix, flips the photo of her and Harry in happier times, to see the number of the dealer that will give her drugs in exchange for sex. It's a very quiet, but completely devastating moment in the film.Some of the film's most gut wrenching moments are its quietest, such as where the two old ladies are crying and hugging outside the hospital while the smow falls after they see Sara. Although he just about sets the screen on fire with the way that he visually depicts his story, Aranofsky's trump card in "Requium" is his use of music. Clint Mansell and The Kronos Quartet have perfectly married their vision musically to what Aransofsky depicts on screen. Best example: the very final sequence in which we see where the four main characters have ended up both physically and emotionally from where we first met them. The combination of aural and visual is one of the most perfect and completely heart breaking moments ever committed to film, particularly the very final shot with Sara and Harry telling each other that they love each other, imposed over Sara sleeping in her bed in the hospital. I left the theatre physically shaking both times I saw "Requium" It is a pity that no one under eighteen in Australia can see this film. It is one of the most important film about drugs and drug abuse ever committed to film. "Requium For A Dream" is the rarest of bests; a film about drugs that neither glamourises nor preaches. It is the first truly great film of the 21st century. If this film manages to make even one person change their mind about using hard drugs, than that is the greatest recommendation that "Requium For A Dream' could possibly receive.