Brutal but unforgettable

Rating: 10/10 (30 April 2014)

It's difficult to describe the effect that this film had on me. I finished watching it feeling like I had been tortured for an hour and a half, yet this is far and away the greatest piece of cinematography I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
I found myself turning away from the screen on several occasions and felt physically sick by the end. It's like watching a car crash in slow motion, because from the beginning it's clear what the fate of our protagonists is. Yet, you can't help but be drawn in to their characters, to feel nothing but the utmost sympathy for four helpless, hopeless drug addicts that spiral into a form of life barely worth describing.
Ellen Burstyn is incredible. Darren Arenofsky has created a masterpiece. I can never watch this film again, but my god am I glad I watched it once. Incredible.