A bit of "Leaving Las Vegas: with a "Schindler's List" chaser, all in a "Changing Lanes" atmosphere

Rating: Null/10 (8 February 2003)

Good Lord, man! This movie is like "Leaving Las Vegas" with a "Schindler's List" chaser in an atmosphere of "Changing Lanes"!
Let me explain. First of all, there is no denying that it IS an amazing movie. Darren Aronofsky is a brilliant director. Visually, the movie is unbelievable! Was it nominated for any awards for its directing? It should have been.
The cast was simply amazing. Jennifer Connely was a guilty pleasure as always. Jared Leto keeps impressing me more and more each time I see him. Ellen Burstyn blew my mind. And Marlon Wayans?! Who'd a thunk a Wayans could actually ACT?!
The film should have also won an award for best make up for Ellen Burstyn's character. The difference between her appearance as she envisioned herself on tv and the state that she found herself in at the end of the movie is beyond amazing. I was just as impressed with her range of appearance as I was with King Theoden's pre/post "exorcism" in The Two Towers!
Now, let me explain my comment at the beginning of this post where I compared "Requiem" with "Vegas," "Schindler," and "Lanes." It is like Changing Lanes in that none of the characters are really likeable. Maybe that adds to the reality of it all the more, but it is hard (at least, for me) to watch a movie where you genuinely don't like any of the characters. The aspect which raised it above "Lanes," however, and brought it up to the level of "Vegas" was that while the characters are not likeable in the least, you do genuinely care for them. The scenes where "Maid Marion" goes to the apartment of the guy she has the phone number for are truly heartbreaking. Especially her second visit. Seeing Sarah getting worse and worse on her medication is pitiable in its reality. And Harry's arm and the agony it causes him is too realistic and I found myself longing for the point where he finally has it "treated" at the end of the film.
This all brings me to the final comparison with another film. Requiem is like "Schindler's List" in that it is both very realistic (I would say that both Schindler" and "Requiem" are films that every person should see) AND very depressing. Luckily I also rented "Beneath Loch Ness," a B-grade movie that will hopefully bring me back to a state of emotional equilibrium.
All in all, I 'm glad that I saw it, but I refuse to say that it was a movie that I "enjoyed." Like "Schindler's List," I have seen it once ... and that, to tell the truth, is enough.