A poetic vision of an addict's hell

Rating: Null/10 (12 November 2000)

Requiem for a Dream is a visual and aural feast combined with an excruciating punch in the gut. Constructed solely to paint the depths that addicts descend, director Darren Aronofsky used a marvelous range of techniques to express more vividly the journey.
As an interesting twist from the typical drug movie, one of the characters caught in a drug spiral is the elderly mother of one of the addicts showing the possibilities for an unaware an unintentional part of our society. The performance by Ellen Burstyn as the mother was both convincing and agonizing.
Most of the films reviews miss the poetic nature of the film. To stand back and view the film without analyzing the minute details reveals a palette of visual and audio techniques never seen packaged in quit this way. The infatuating music by the Kronos string quartet in the background gave an exciting rhythm to the proceedings. The act of getting high depicted by a quick aural and visually magnified sequence lent just the right focus to the process of assimilating the drugs, i.e., a routine act of getting were you want to be. The scenes cutting from characters to character was typical in the beginning, but as the film neared its climax became a throbbing and sickening process that left you shaken and generally glad it was over.
I hate drug movies and would not have gone to this movie if I had not been unaware of its content. After seeing the film, I am very glad that I did not miss it. I would like to recommend it to everyone, but the film is not for everyone. If you love unique, moving, slap-you-in-the-face kind of movies, don't miss this one.