Quite simply a masterpiece and one of the best films I've ever seen

Rating: 10/10 (29 November 2013)

**************WARNING SPOILERS THROUGHOUT**************************
This film is so good that I hardly know where to begin. I'll be honest and say that I am usually quite picky when it comes to giving a film 10/10, but for me it was a 'no brainer' with Requiem for a Dream for so many reasons;
Basic plot/summary; Four Coney island individuals lives become badly affected when their addictions to drugs grow stronger.
Firstly for me one of the major pluses with this film is the direction; Oh My God! What a feast for the eyes. I have never seen such brilliant direction in any film that I've ever seen. There are shots where the camera is spinning and where the camera speeds up (this wasn't poor directing or poor camera technique, but was clearly used to show the drug induced minds of the four individuals).
Next we come to the acting/characters; Sara Goldfrab (Ellen Burstyn) - what can I say? Not only was her acting 'phenomenal' but I found her character the most interesting out of all the characters. Sara is basically a telly addict who fantasises about being on TV. She also uses diet pills to lose weight (or so we initially think). However, it is heavily suggested due to Sara's mannerisms and the speeding up of the camera that she is in fact taking 'amphetamines'. I felt that Burstyn gave the best performance and I also felt most sympathy for her character.
Harry Goldfrab/Tyrone C Love (Leto and Wayans respectively). I decided to discuss their characters together as for the most part they worked as a double act. Their story arc shows them initially selling drugs and making lots of money (until a deal goes sour with Love and some other guys which to be honest wasn't explained very well). Due to this major hitch, the 2 men find themselves with no money and desperate for their next fix. This leads perfectly to the next act;
Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly) - wow wasn't she gorgeous here? Not only was she absolutely stunning, but she also gave an absolutely brilliant performance. There are a couple of scenes where Harry pimps her out in order for her, Harry & Tyrone to finance their next fix. Yes pimping her out might seem 'degrading', but I felt that this was warranted given the context of the film. They were desperate, they needed their fix. What made it more plausible is that Marion was just as hooked as Tyrone and Harry so she was prepared to go along with it.
There are a couple of poignant moments in the film that for me were just perfect; we see in the middle of the film that Harry is running towards Marion, not much is made of this initially but towards the end of the film Harry runs towards Marion again and she disappears when he gets to her. My personal feeling on this is that of 'Love and Loss' - he had her love in the first instance and lost her love in the second instance (kind of reminded me of Bon Jovi's music video 'Always' but I'm being mushy now).
To be honest though, the most poignant scene for me was the end of the film; on the Game show it shows Sara and Harry at the end on the same feature. He is depicted as a successful importer (as he stated he was at the start of the film) and Sara was this perfect TV persona. For me, that embodies what Sara always wanted; her son to be successful and for her to be this big TV personality and for me it was the perfect ending to the perfect film. Of course, it was all fantasy but it was at least slightly uplifting.
Requiem for a Dream is simply superb; Aronfosky has excelled himself. This film has everything; exceptional directing, amazing acting, brilliant story and many heart breaking and harrowing scenes. This is definitely a film that is not to be missed!