Amazing.

Rating: 9/10 (21 February 2009)

I just watched REQUIEM FOR A DREAM for the third time and I still was absolutely blown away. Never before has a film so accurately captured the nightmare of addiction.
First off, I want to say that the song that is performed by the Cronos Quartet is one of the most haunting yet beautiful songs ever, period.
Jared Leto gives a solid performance as Henry Goldfarb,a heroin addict that's always in search for a fix. He shows that he can play a major role, instead of just supporting ones like in Fight Club and American Psyco.
Jennifer Connelly plays Marion Silver, Henry's girlfriend and fellow heroin addict. Here, she shows (just like Leto) that she can take on a major role and not fail to give a winning performance. Marlon Wayans plays Tyrone C. Love, Henry's best friend and (you guessed it!) fellow pusher.
But the real gem of the film is Ellen Burnstyn's performance as Sara Goldfrab, Henry's mother. She gives the performance of a lifetime here, as a diet pill addicted widow. She most definitely deserved the Oscar nom and the Oscar itself. (She lost to Julia Roberts in ERIN BROCKOVICH.) The last half hour or so are quite possibly the most heart wrenching scenes in a movie ever. Henry Goldfarb needs to get his arm amputated because of an infection from one of the needles he used. Marion Silver is prostituting herself so she can get a fix. Tyrone is arrested and in prison he must face hostile prison guards, hard labor, and drug withdrawal all alone. Sara completely breaks down and becomes hospitalized where she undergoes electric shock therapy, eventually becoming emaciated and catatonic in a mental asylum.
For some reason, people sometimes say that this glorifies drug use. THIS IS THE BIGGEST ANTI-DRUG MOVIE EVER! just from the last couple scenes(look at the above paragraph) you know that Darren Aranofsky is showing you how ruined someone's life can get from using drugs! The film leaves a deep, deep impression in your mind that will last forever.