a descent into hell

Rating: Null/10 (26 October 2002)

Ok we all know drugs are bad , we know drugs will ruin your life , and yes we've seen dozens of other movies about drugs and the dangers of drug addiction to the point where it's a boring Hollywood cliche. So what exactly makes Requiem For A Dream so different? I'll tell you. Requiem For A Dream is not exactly a morality tale about the dangers of drug addiction , it's not a warning , and it isn't preaching. It's a descent into the darkest pits of hell. It is an excrusiating emotional torture lesson in the death of hope , and the death of a future. Requiem plays like a sonic assault on your emotions , fears , and sympathys. It doesnt hold anything back , and leaves you feeling sick and emotionally drained and disgusted as the very last note on the soundtrack plays.
*SPOILERS* It tells two storys interwoven together. Sara Goldfarb played by Ellen Burnstyn , a sweet sweet Coney Island woman who is oblivious to her son Harry's habits and behavior played by Jared Leto and her obsession to be on television and lose weight to fit into her red dress. She seeks the treatment of diet pills and soon becomes addicted to them leaving her in a downward spiral of self destruction..what makes her demise the hardest is her character comes off as this sweet nice old lady and the viewer is felt disgusted by what happens to her. Harry and his friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayanes) and girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) are drugged out losers from the begining so the viewer doesn't really feel sympathy for them but towards the end their sickness and destruction of hope is felt very hard by the viewer. Requiem's power is in it's editing , acting , and score. We don't actually see any graphic drug use like you would in Trainspotting or other films , it's not that type of movie. It's a movie bent on hurting your emotions , making you feel what the characters are feeling and it does a very good job. Definitly not for the faint of heart or emotionally unstable.