Unrelenting denunciation of drug abuse

Rating: 7/10 (26 March 2012)

I didn't discover Darren Aronofsky's "Requiem for a Dream" (2000) until after discovering its great score. We've all heard this powerful score somewhere over the last dozen years or so since it's been cut & pasted ad infinitum, but I wasn't aware of its name or what film it was originally derived. I finally tracked it down to "Requiem for a Dream." The reason it was hard to uncover is because the movie was unsuccessful at the box office, likely due to its NC-17 rating, even though it's generally regarded as a near masterpiece, albeit in the downbeat sense.
"Requiem for a Dream" is a film about substance addiction, legal or illegal. The film stars Ellen Burstyn as a Brooklyn widow who has to deal with her addict son (Jared Leto), whom she loves too much to render the necessary "tough love." Jennifer Connelly plays the son's girlfriend and Marlon Waylans his best friend, both equally addicted.
The film utilizes various creative picture/editing techniques to relay its tale of a slow descent into hell on earth. The characters are understandably kind of pathetic and the story is only moderately absorbing, until the end, that is. The climax is a powerful indictment of drug abuse, legal or illegal. So potent, in fact, that I literally wept (!).
The NC-17 rating mainly has to do with a shocking climatic scene involving Connelly's character at some stag party, but there's an R-rated version that relays all the information you need to know. I've seen both and, although I prefer uncensored films, the edited version is worthy. Besides, the cut scene is available on youtube for anyone who's interested.
BOTTOM LINE: While the story is only mildly absorbing it has great acting and is filled with kinetic filmmaking, which is both interesting and sometimes annoying. But the ending is pummeling in a horrifying sense, and the score is a veritable masterpiece. However, the film's unrelenting denunciation of substance abuse keeps it from being entertaining in the conventional sense, which isn't a problem for me, but it might compel others to never want to see it again, if at all.
GRADE: B+