An eye-opening experience (just look at the box cover)

Rating: Null/10 (29 November 2001)

If anyone deserved an Academy Award last year it was Ellen Burstyn for her portrayal of a lonely old woman who longs for yesteryear. Her obsession to relive that life that she once had leads her down a degenerative spiral of (pharmaceutical) drug-addiction. However, Burstyn was not the only player to put in award-worthy performance. Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, and, surprisingly, Marlon Wayans each contribute spot-on portrayals of people down-on-their-luck, whose struggle to overcome their hardships eventually turns them into hopeless, pathetic life-forms on the dark path to death; they are the anti-thesis of the American dream. Darren Aronofsky deftly blends the characters with a yearning for the innocence of childhood and a desire to be appreciated that is at once omnipresent and smooth, but secondary. The film never lags as all four main characters each have strong character arcs. I have heard many people say this is a depressing film, but I think it is this only for viewers whose real-life mirrors that of the characters. As for the normal, "clean-cut" audience segment, shouldn't the fact that you do not act as the film characters do make you glad that you do not? While I was surprised that there was not a twist at the end, the ending is still extremely sound the way it is (the final shot of Ellen Burstyn is chilling to the point that it puts Tom Hank's emaciated body in the second half of "Cast Away" to shame). This is an extremely powerful film, even if this is not the first time we have been warned about the evils of drug addiction. Final Grade: A