Absolutely devastating

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2008)

Requiem For a Dream (2000)
Darren Aronofosky's heavy-hitting film comes at you with its uncompromising nature, and it disturbingly clear message. If this film could be shown to teenagers, it would probably have a more profound and moving effect than any other anti-drug teaching programme.
The plot follows the lives of these four people: The story's main characters are mother and son, Sara (Burstyn) and Harry Goldfarb (Leto), Harry's girlfriend Marion Silver (Connelly), and Harry's friend Tyrone C. Love (Wayans). The novel and the movie both deliberately move through three phases: summer, fall and winter.
We follow the story, as Sara gets a phone-call to participate in her favourite television show and becomes obsessed with losing weight and wearing her old red dress that made her feel so fine. Sara plunges into madness as the amphetamins (diet pills she is taking) give her hallucinations and fervent behaviour. Meanwhile the lives of Harry, Marion and Tyrone are forever changed, as their addictions to drugs grow and they reach any lengths to get the addictive, life destroying substances; Marion even performs sexual acts to get heroin.
The film's conclusion is harrowing as the four characters end up in a state of sheer destruction and depersonalisation. This is rare, powerful stuff.
Aronofsky's film achieves something that very few films do; it manages to rattle, shock and challenge the viewer about problems in our society, issues of loneliness, isolation and drugs. This film comes at you and sweeps you with its devastating story and its profound message.
Ellen Burstyn's performance is absolutely magnificent, Oscar worthy material. Truly an unforgettable performance.
Requiem for a Dream is something beyond a masterpiece, it is an important, relatable film to everyday issues and problems; how people stuck in the cycle of poverty try to sell drugs to lift themselves outside the poverty circle, but in the way get caught into addiction.
Along with Steven Soderbergh's 'Traffic', these two films complete a spectacular panorama concerning the problems with drugs and their distribution.
Shattering, demoralising, explicitly powerful Cinema.
10/10