Not exactly the feel good movie of 2000

Rating: 8/10 (10 November 2000)

Requiem for a Dream is another screen adaptation of a Hubert Selby novel, and like 1991's "Last Exit to Brooklyn" no one gets out of this one unscathed. It's a powerful movie and a bit difficult to watch at times, but it's worth the ride to go down with these characters to depths from which they will never emerge. All the performances are solid, but Ellen Burstyn gives the performance of her life as a woman who just wants to wear a red dress that reminds her of more hopeful days. Jared Leto -- where did he come from? -- gives an equally impressive performance as her totally hapless drug addicted son. This movie is a great antidote to morally bankrupt films along the lines of "Trainspotting" that portray serious addiction as glamorous. "Trainspotting" made an episode of cold turkey look like a really cool music video with a baby crawling on the ceiling. When Ellen sees the refrigerator comes sliding and grinding across the floor in "Requiem" it is neither cool nor glamorous. The word "malevolent" comes to mind.