Intense.

Rating: Null/10 (16 February 2003)

When I popped this movie into my VCR, I had no idea what to expect. The only thing I was expecting was a crazy "drug movie" in the same vein as Blow or Traffic.
After the relatively short 102 minutes of the film were up, all expectations were crushed by the sheer inertia of this film. Never has a movie invoked a total feeling of despair in me. The last 20 minutes of this film was like a 20-minute free fall into hell with nothing but a burning parachute. I was totally surprised by the weight of this film.
However, what surprised me more was the depth of the film. Instead of focusing on the drug use and abuse itself, Darren Aronofsky focused on the characters' emotions, ambitions, flaws, and ultimate downfall. With Sara Goldfarb's bourgeois obsessions, Harry Goldfarb's struggle for a better and easier life, Marion Silver's crippling addiction to the thing that fills the hole in her life, and Tyrone Love's inherent Oedipus complex, Requiem for a Dream becomes much more than just a lateral "drug movie."

To put the proverbial icing on the cake, powerful music coupled with the deft usage of color creates the moods that complement and contrast so amazingly well. The beginning of the film is saturated in color, as opposed to the end with it's subdued greens, grays, and blues. The camera work also adds to the intensity of the film. Holy extreme close-up Batman!
In the end, Requiem for a Dream ranks up there in my favorite movies of all time. However, I don't suggest this movie for a late night party. This will definitely ruin any party atmosphere.

9/10 Superb film but definitely not for everyone.