Should have won an Oscar...

Rating: 10/10 (15 April 2006)

"Requiem for a Dream" is the follow up to Darren Aronofsky's highly acclaimed movie "Pi". Requiem was debuted in 2000 along with blockbuster hit "Gladiator", a Ridley Scott film that ,to me, falls short on the way of telling a "Best Picture of the Year" story. "Requiem for a Dream", sadly, didn't even get a nomination for best picture but the 2000 ballot was crowded by dreadful snoozers such as "Erin Brockovich" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". "Requiem", on the other hand, is shocking, eye-opening, and demands to be seen. "Requiem" is the story of four individuals in Coney Island that are trying to make their dreams come true but are constantly consumed by their addiction to drugs. This movie hits hard with mind blowing visuals, some of the best acting I have ever seen in a movie, and a soundtrack by the Kronos Quartet that would impress even the most finicky music critic.
The movie sets up with Sara Goldfarb, a lonely, TV obsessed widow, and her son Harry, his girlfriend Marion, and his drug dealer friend Tyrone. The three teenage friends all have mild addictions to heroin and in the opening sequence are seen stealing Sara's, the main characters grandmother, television in order to pay for their next fix. At the same time Sara receives a phone call requesting her appearance on her favorite TV show. Harry and Tyrone have dreams of starting a big drug business and Marion has her own dreams of opening a fashion store and selling her designs. As the film progresses their addictions become severe and they keep slipping away from what they initially sought out to do.
The biggest mistake, I believe, that the academy made in the 2000 Oscars was not giving Ellen Burstyn the award for best actress. Instead Julia Roberts won for Erin Brockovich. Although I do believe that Erin Brockovich was Julia Roberts best performance it does not even compare to the breathtaking performance of Ellen. Ellen had to put up with putting on 4 hours worth of makeup every morning, wearing four different necks, two different fat suits, and nine different wigs throughout the movie and she was still able to give a performance that made me believe that I was going through what she was going through; that I was there with her.
The style of the movie is very quick and demanding. Most movies have between 600 and 700 cuts. Requiem for a Dream has over 2,000. Also, Aronofsky uses many trick shots such as mounting cameras on actors or even dropping cameras off building hooked up to bungee cords. This makes for an amazing visual film but, if you can't even watch an MTV music video without feeling sick this movie might not be for you. It has many graphic scenes including those that contain the using of drugs, strong sexual acts, language. This film originally got a NC-17 rating but lowered that down by deleting a few sexual scenes. The film is now available in both formats: the original, director's cut, and the edited version. Either way this movie is a great milestone in film production and story telling. I definitely suggest picking this movie up next time your at a the videostore.