Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Rating: 9/10 (26 August 2019)

Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Christopher McDonald, Louise Lasser, Keith David, Mark Margolis, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Sean Gullette.
Unflinching portrait of addiction focusing on four desperate characters: a widow hooked on amphetamine diet pills (Burstyn), her son (Leto), plus his friend (Wayans) and girlfriend (Connelly), the latter three all heroin junkies. It doesn't take long for director Aronofsky's arresting filmmaking techniques to either electrify or repulse (depending on the viewer's tolerance for his method), using hypnotically rapid-fire editing, symbolic split screens, musical leitmotifs (composed by Clint Mansell), filters, film speed variations, and more to both simulate narrative and character urgency as well as mimic (but absolutely not glorify) the intense kick and all-too-quick dissolution of a drug high. There's no judgment or piety here, just an intense, skin-crawling examination of dependency, of degradation, of lives shattering; an inevitable result, but still painful to witness. No slackers in this cast, but Burstyn is especially good, delusion segueing into hallucination, all recorded in her physical expressions and cracking voice; hers is the most affecting tragic arc since she was the closest to innocence before the talons sunk in. A bit too lurid and cynical at times, with only a few veritable angles on theme/plot to set it apart from a dozen so-called "drug movies" before it, but it's the way it's told that sticks with the viewer and makes it a harrowingly unforgettable experience. Originally slapped with an NC-17 rating and then released unrated into theaters; avoid the compromised R-rated home video copies.
91/100