Beautifully disturbing.

Rating: 9/10 (28 June 2018)

It's hard to say if Requiem for a Dream was made to shock and disturb, or tell a suspenseful and intriguing story. One way or another, it succeeds at both by showing the horrible effects of crime and addiction can have on people.
Some of the acting and camerawork can come off as sub-par at times, but it's easy enough to get past since the vast majority is spot-on. Many scenes use time lapses and multiple shots playing on different parts of the screen. These kind of effects are used to amazing effect and add a lot more artistic flair each sequence.
Something a lot of people neglect to think about when talking about movies is the sound design, and I don't think I've ever experienced better use of sound design than in Requiem. Music is playing nearly constantly throughout the movie, and makes scenes that are already very intense and emotional have even more potency. At one point, I actually nearly fell out of my chair because I thought something had shifted in my room when a sound effect was positioned perfectly.
The problem I have with Requiem is that for about 20% of the movie, I just felt sick from just how horrible the situation was. I suppose that really is the strongest thing about Requiem, and why I think a lot of people would really hate watching it. I'd say that anyone who likes drama or tragedy would likely enjoy it, even if it's a bit much to take in at times.