Difficult, but essential, viewing for true film lovers

Rating: 9/10 (13 August 2001)

I rented the this film on videocassette last night, and the box prominently mentioned that this is the "Edited Version". My first thought was that I was being cheated out of seeing the director's original "unedited" version by overzealous film censors. After surviving one viewing of the film, I can only thank God for having mercy on my senses by not exposing me to the "unedited" version, as the "Edited Version" contained about as much as a person of ordinary sensibilities can probably stomach.
Having said that, "Requiem" is an amazing film on many levels, much better than Aronofsky's "Pi". He creates in the audience a strong empathy for his characters, something that "Pi", despite its artistic innovations, was unable to do (at least to me). Whereas Aronofsky's distinctive style in "Pi" often seemed to me to be little more than being different for the sake of being different, in "Requiem" he has refined his directorial techniques and used them in the service of telling a compelling and moving--though admittedly bleak--story. He has also managed to coax amazing performances from all four of his lead actors.
Aronofsky manages to capture the repetitive aspects of addictive behavior in a way that I have not quite seen on film before. Every time one of the characters gets his or her "fix", we are treated to a quick-moving series of images of the method of delivery, the internal effect, and the external effect of the person's drug of choice, which repeats each time that character takes their drug (a technique that reminded me of the "bullet scene" in "Three Kings", and of certain sequences in "Fight Club"). The musical score reinforces this feeling of mindless repetition, with sequences of a few notes--or at times, even one note--being repeated, conveying a sense of the automaton-like repetition that occurs with addictive behavior.
In a way, some of the themes in this film were similar to those explored in the more accessible "Traffic", though without even a hint of hope for resolution (e.g. (Possible Spoiler) Jennifer Connelly's character's addiction leads her to a situation very similar to one of the characters in "Traffic", but without anyone to rescue her).
Though the movie is only rated "R" and not "NC-17", it is a very strong "R" in terms of its cumulative psychological impact on the viewer. Nevertheless, no serious movie lover should miss this one - just be prepared to see something that will stick around in your brain and challenge your sensibilities.