Requiem for a Dream

Rating: 10/10 (9 June 2020)

I didn't enjoy watching this film. Darren Aronofskys direction is so horrific and tragic, and Ellen Burstyn's portrayal of Sara in particular is equally so. The film chronicles the lives of four addicts with shared experiences of addiction and RFAD captures that in its most brutal form, resulting in a film so inherently unwatchable it carries the most emotional resonance if only watched once.
However, my previous comments regarding the horrific nature of the direction and acting performances are not criticisms at all. The direction is purposefully designed to be horrific and unsettling; these moments are captured with such brutal honesty and Sara's accelerated descent into insanity in particular is so uncomfortable to watch that this film can be considered to be one of the true masterpieces of the 21st Century, and it can also be considered to be Arenofsky's magnum opus. I cannot criticise this film in any way whatsoever, and I wouldn't even try to look for criticisms.