10 out of 10

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 2002)

WOW! as a huge fan of hubert selby´s writing I was somehow scared that they mess it up. but with THAT director and THAT cast, what can go wrong? right, nothing, and that´s why REQUIEM FOR A DREAM sits right up there with other masterpieces of the last decade like BAD LIEUTENANT, CLEAN SHAVEN, JULIEN DONKEY BOY, SEUL CONTRE TOUS, THE WAR ZONE, GUMMO etcetc...all movies that actually dare not only to touch sensitive subjects but actually DEAL with them. that´s a big difference. so, kudos to mr. aronovsky who had the guts to make this movie as unpleasant as it should be. no safety nets, every trace of hope or happiness is immediately crushed by aronovsky´s sense for reality. and ellen burstyn gives one hell of a mindblowing performance. see it and weap!