A harrowing masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (26 June 2001)

I watched this movie two days ago and I still can't get it out of my mind.It definitely ranks among the best movies of this year.I don't believe I have seen such a devastatingly powerful movie in a long time.Aronofski's dexterity and inventiveness as a director is phenomenal. Using a number of techniques such as split screens,distorting lenses, slow motion, fast forward etc.he manages to literally transport us into the minds of his characters and make us see everything through their distorted vision. This is coupled with one of the most powerful and black stories told on the big screen for a long time;Requiem is a study in the various forms addiction can take, from heroin to coffee to sugar to TV.Moreover it is a painfully accurate depiction of shattered dreams and dashed hopes, of the self delusion that spurs all of us to build our dreams and hopes around non existing chimeras and a powerful critique of the american dream of fame success and easy money. Those who dismissed the film as moralistic and didactic missed the point entirely, just like those who had dismissed Trainspotting(another excellent film)as being pro-drugs. The drugs in Requiem for a dream are the pretext Arronofski uses to talk about wider issues such as the nature of all addictions and the ravages that illusions and self delusions perpetrate on the human psyche. Oh, one last thing:Clint Mansell's score is so powerful and hypnotic it will haunt you for days, just like the movie itself.