Uncomfortably hypnotic

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2003)

Wow there's a lot of comments on this film. It seems like everyone was somehow impressed and needed to write down what the movie meant for them. This movie is not a masterpiece but it's still great, and very emotionally draining, unlike most movies.
Although all the characters are addicts (Burstyn becoming an addict of diet pills...are these legal??) they are all sympathetic and they make you care about them and their dreams.
The movie starts out depicting the relationship between the characters. As the movie progresses all the characters tumble more and more into a maelstrom of misery, ending in a very uncompromising and strong ending that will shock the viewer.
That ending is a bit exaggerated (getting thrown in jail just for having heroin injection wounds, electroshock therapy without sedation or consulting first, even amputation!) but it will blow you away, leaving you with a feeling like you just got hit with a sledge hammer. The exaggeration is a typical American aspect for films and I can't really say it's always bad but as a European I have more respect for subtlety and I liked the way the topic was handled more lightly in Trainspotting.
IMHO, the message delivered here is, however, not simply "don't do drugs". It's not even a movie that focuses on drugs as a problem (like Traffic, another good movie), it focuses on more universal problems: abuse, lack of attention to old people, lack of love and care. This is done in a convincing way and the acting is superb.
Besides the exaggeration my negatives are it's repetitivity (the same music and the same montage with the close-up on the eyes with every fix are repeated over and over again to try to hypnotize the viewer, however, to me it came across as semi-hip. The great Trainspotting is a lot funnier and more hip. But Requiem for a dream is still a seriously great film for it's acting, sensitivity and effective camera-work.
8 out of 10