This Film Is Probably The Best Campaign Against Drugs...

Rating: 9/10 (7 April 2004)

`Requiem For A Dream' is a realistic film about drugs, what they can do to a person, and how they destroy their lives, their dreams, their plans, everything. Darren Aronofsky does an excellent work, surely his best until now. And, `Requiem' is probably the best of its genre, and the most realistic I've ever seen. It tells the story of four lives, each with their own addictions to drugs, and how they start to go down the drain as the months passes and as the story progresses.
Spoilers `Requiem For A Dream' is a simple story. It involves the lives of four people, Harold (Jared Leto), Marion (Jennifer Connely), Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) and Mrs. Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn), Harold's mother. As the story starts, Aronofsky introduces us to the characters, what are they addictions, their daily behavior, how they interact with people, their dreams, aspirations, etc. Harold and Tyrone are partners in the drug business, and they start doing business on the streets, consequently the money comes rolling in. They consume it, they sell it, and they buy it. Meanwhile, Mrs. Goldfarb receives a call, a call that says that she is soon to be appearing on her favorite TV show. She thinks the call is a prank call, to cheat her, but, with full of hope and simplicity, she decides to trust in the person on the other side of the line. As the opportunity to appear in a TV program becomes more real, she decides to get thinner, entering also, in a world of drugs. A different kind of drugs, but one as dangerous as the ones her son, Harold, was consuming. As the months pass, passing from Summer to Winter, their state of mind and physical appearance start to decrease. The addiction to drugs starts to increase. The number of drugs in the city is constantly decreasing. This factor takes Tyrone and Harold to Philadelphia to buy some new drugs, but as they arrive there, they don't expect what's waiting for them. Marion is the most addicted, she can't live without drugs. She decides to get drugs through other means. Mrs. Goldfarb starts to get annoyed by the fact that the TV program doesn't get back to her, and eventually her mind starts getting tired. The consequences of these actions and behavior are the most realistic and spine-chilling I've ever seen. End of Spoilers
`Requiem' is marked, mainly, by its morbid direction. Darren Aronofsky has done a fantastic job. He uses quick shots to represent the use of drugs, to demonstrate how the drugs affect the brain: it's quick. The visuals of the film are absolutely spectacular. I've never seen nothing like that. I had already seen `Pi', and the direction of it isn't much different than `Requiem', but, either way, I was absolutely astonished. The acting is very realistic, specially Ellen Burstyn's. I know many people have said this, but it doesn't hurt saying it again: best performance since `The Exorcist', she should have won the Oscar, surely. Jared Leto and Jennifer Connely are perfect, portraying the teen couple, who are deeply in love, but unfortunately, are addicted to drugs. Marlon Wayans has his best performance of all time as Tyrone C. Love(jumps from `Scary Movie' to the best film he has ever done). The plot is very absorbing and, without a doubt, thought-provoking. Along with the direction, the score by Clint Mansell cooperating with The , is one of the best in the movie industry. It was as absorbing as the plot. Absolutely magnificent. Great soundtrack.
Finally, `Requiem For A Dream' is the best film I've ever seen about drugs, and the most realistic. After seeing this one, you'll see the world of drugs with another perspective. Either you'll like it, or you won't. Are you the kind of person that accepts reality as it is, or, are you the kind of person that just wants to ignore it? One thing's for sure, it will definitely raise in you quite a number of moral issues.
PsIKiLL's Rating: 9/10