Powerful.

Rating: 10/10 (3 March 2012)

Requiem For a Dream is a dark and often disturbing film. It follows the lives in the of four people of Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn), her son Harry (Jared Leto), Harry's girlfriend Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly, and Harry's friend Tyrone C. Love (Marlon Wayans); and how drugs affect them,
Okay I'll start with this – this film is incredible, and should be considered a modern masterpiece. The direction by Darren Aronofsky is perfect, claustrophobic, emotional and original. Quote from Wikipedia: "Aronofsky uses montages of extremely short shots throughout the film (sometimes termed a hip hop montage) While an average 100-minute film has 600 to 700 cuts, RFAD features more than 2,000. Split-screen is used extensively, along with extremely tight closeups. Long tracking shots (including those shot with an apparatus strapping a camera to an actor, called the Snorricam) and time-lapse photography are also prominent stylistic devices." The use of these stylistic features produces an enthralling perspective of drug use, and really gets you into the mind of the characters.
The acting is superb. Ellen Burstyn shows a frail old woman to a drug-crazed maniac, which sounds ridiculous but it's true. She is electrifying. Her most famous line 'I'm gonna be on television' is heartbreaking. The supporting cast are equally award-worthy, yet received none as of the type of film it is.
I was deeply moved by this, I have never been so emotionally affected by a film. When it finished I just could not even move or do anything, I just watched the credits roll.
This is a must-see for a masterclass in direction, and the bleak imagery.