Intense, powerful and thought-provoking

Rating: 10/10 (12 January 2006)

I still remember the first time I saw "Requiem for a Dream" at Michigan State several years ago. I think this film will always stick with me for one reason or another. The film is hardly pleasant, but in many ways it is about as perfect a modern film as I have seen. Yes, this is high praise, but it is well deserved. The acting especially by Ellen Burstyn as the ever hopeful Sara Goldfarb is amazing in its seductiveness and completeness. Burstyn was Sara Goldfarb, a lonely woman longing for past memories and future moments. The actors suck us right into the story and combined with Aronofsky's direction, Clint Mansell's haunting use of the Kronos Quartet, Jay Rabinowitz's editing and Matthew Libatique's camera-work the results are spell-bounding. The story about 4 people and their battles with addiction is heartbreaking, but it is the way it achieves this effect that sticks in my mind. The last 15 minutes are an exercise in editing, cinematography and craftsmanship by the cast and crew. This is an unforgettable film about addiction and longing that made me think for days after I saw it. A 10 out of 10.