An existentialist requiem for a dream

Rating: 10/10 (3 February 2001)

This is certainly the best film that I have seen in a cinema. The performances from Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly as the two lovers Harry Goldfarb and Marion Silver is spellbinding. The dividing of the movie into Summer, Autumn and Fall (each with their own distinct musical themes) is a device that works well and helps to build up to the climax in the third act which is raw, kaleido copic and emotional. The first ten minutes of the movie are certainly very good and the constant depictions of a deserted fairground and rusting rollercoaster remind one of lost childhood and the inevitability of dissolution. The most disturbing addict of the film is Ellen Burstyn playing Sara Goldfarb, a widow with a delinquent son who is always stealing the TV (her only real solace). The soundtrack to this movie is one of the most original you will find, which is why I have just gone and ordered it. Its a great pity that this movie was only released in arthouse cinemas, it is a movie that everyone needs to see, a savage attack on the dystopia produced by the quest for the American Dream. This film will never lose relevance.