Edith Bunker takes a pill

Rating: 5/10 (25 February 2001)

In fairness to the filmmaker and anyone who may be reading this, I viewed `Requiem for a Dream' in the same week I saw `Hannibal' and `Pollock.' Afterwards, I hurried over to a local cinema to see the sing-a-long version of `The Sound of Music' in an effort to balance things out, but the box office had posted a sign `SOLD OUT UNTIL END OF RUN. DON'T EVEN ASK!' I guess a lot of other people need a sugar `fix' as well.

When we meet the four central characters in `Requiem for a Dream,' they're already fatally damaged. Their `goals' aren't anything we're rooting for, and as they spiral predictably downward, we encounter very familiar material that's been covered in literature and moviemaking for years: drugs aren't safe (prescription and non), materialism corrupts, spiritual emptiness leads nowhere, diet fads are bad, it's pathetic to watch game shows, capitalism is inherently selfish, aging will leave you lonely, the mental health system is inadequate, always ask who's going to be at the orgy you've agreed to show up for, and rotate veins when you shoot upÂ…. You get the picture. It's not a pretty world out there.
All of that is well and good if you have something new and bold to say. But I didn't come away with any new insights. [Well, that's not true. I learned never to let Louise Lasser color my hair or encourage an actor to vomit directly into the lens.]
There is something striking about Aronofsky's command of the medium. Using visual and editing styles from music videos with some spectacular performances (Jennifer Connelly in particular) he's created an intense and powerful experience. But so is buying a ticket to have someone hammer a nail into your skull.