familiar elements presented in an original manner

Rating: Null/10 (7 June 2001)

as far as movies that make a point go, this one makes several important ones. i am not going to concentrate so much on the cast because all you need to know about them is that they were perfect for their roles. the standout is ellen burstyn, who at times had me wondering how she prepared for this part. christopher mcdonald has a dark comedian role of sorts ala john ritter in gregg araki's brilliant teen drama/dark comedy nowhere. this is where reqiuem confuses me. take the films drugstore cowboy and trainspotting then cross them with a bit more deadpan desperation and you have requiem for a dream. normally i would say that in a bad way, claiming it as unoriginal but in this case there's a huge exception. aronofsky simply made a powerful film with a spectacular score by pop will eat itself's clint mansell. make no mistake folks, reqiuem will grab you harder than trainspotting did (although in retrospect i like trainspotting more), it will make you more depressed than american beauty, and it will leave you wondering why there was no sign of life inside this downward spiral that all of characters were on. once reqiuem starts falling, it falls very fast.
rating- warning- this film will change your mood for the worse even if you like it. get the DVD if you can because of the excellent special features. other than that, i'd give it 8 out of 10 overall.