Great Camera work and imagery, yet almost absent storyline.

Rating: 7/10 (16 November 2005)

Requiem for a Dream: ***
The Camera work of Requiem for a Dream is interesting and wonderful. Arnofsky uses split screens at times which was something not often seen, and fast moving sequences in which the drugs are taken. Very slick stuff, even if it becomes repetitive. Aside from the interesting visual experience to be found in 'Requiem' there isn't much else to be had. The story line is marginal and though this is perhaps intentional, it offers us little in regards to sympathy for the characters. The only person I felt for throughout the movie was Sarah, the mother. Ellen Burstyn does a fantastic job here and makes her character seem real. You will feel sorry for her. As for Leto's, Wayan's, and Connelly's characters, I certainly felt very little, if not nothing at all. They bring about the products of their own demise. We learn somethings about them along the way, but their stories feel forced. Wayans character has a flashback to his childhood with his mother, which has some fantastic cinematography, but it feels pointless and clichÃ©d. We learn that Connelly wants to be a designer but other than her drawing occasionally in between hits, and the attempts of Harry (Leto) to get her to open her own shop, it registers little with us. Harry Goldfarb has one pivotal scene with his mother in which we see that he does love her, and is sorry for pawning off her television regularly for drug money. This scene is far and away the most emotionally involved, and my favorite, scene in the whole movie. I hoped that after such a fantastic scene that this emotion would continue, yet it doesn't. We see Harry's concern for his mothers new found diet pills, yet thats it. He cries afterwards, then it is no longer mentioned. All of these things may very well be intentional, but they take away from the emotions we should feel for all of these people. Seeing Sarah being torn apart and spiraling into insanity was very realistic and it grabs you and punches you in the guts, but not the others. In the end, this movie feels more like a collection of pictures that have been jammed together. Despite these flaws, I'm still giving this movie a 7/10 ( or *** out of four stars if you will) I give it such a grade because this movie puts this collections of pictures together and offers fantastic visions and insight into the mind( or lack of) a drug addict. Most of the scenes are a visual representation of something, and all of such shots are useful and never unnecessary. Thirdly, even if you only feel sympathy for Sarah Goldfarb, you feel so terribly for this character that you literally will feel, I mentioned above, like you've been punched square in the guts. The most important reason however is that this film is important. It is a gritty look at the tortured lives of addicts. It shows how horrible these drugs are, and no sane person will leave this thinking " gee we should go get high" It will turn you off, and leave you flacid.