Brilliantly awful

Rating: 3/10 (4 February 2008)

I don't really know how to explain this film, so maybe it will come to me in this review.
The film is shown from the perspective of 4 drug users as they spiral into a mental dystopia. All seeking a better life, aided by drugs, they fall into a state of insanity, demonstrated by a great use of film techniques.
Despite the sophisticated film work, I found watching 'Requiem for a Dream' about as pleasurable as having a pigeon with diarrhoea land on my face. The story... goes nowhere. I spent a good 97 minutes wondering when something was going to happen. There was quite a few 'look at the clock' moments. And as the film progressed I found myself feeling increasingly uncomfortable. The finale was so painful, I was dying for the film to finish, as i was bombarded with obnoxious noise, and a montage of obscene nasty outcomes for each character. I could sense the other people in the room feeling the same, but perhaps slightly less tolerant than me. I was really hoping they didn't think I was enjoying myself.
There was a large portion of the film spent of character development, and were supposed to appeal to different members of the audience as an attempt to cause a bigger impact as you watch their lives deteriorate, however, the characters were so dis-likable i didn't want to even look at them.
The whole thing was basically an hour and a half of saying "Drugs are bad", which i think they made quite clear. The film may have been more effective if it had been condensed into about 10 minutes and placed between a plot.
You can tell that it's supposed leave you in a state of amazement, feeling disturbed and changed by the images you have just witnessed, which in many cases probably worked, explaining the amount of credibility it received. However, I have imagined things 10 times more horrible, and I can't think of a reason why i would want to share them with the general public.
In summary: Very well executed, but i do believe in the saying "You can't polish a turd"
The only thing i got out of it was the ability to read clocks in the dark.