For me, the most interesting part of the movie was always Sara, because of the counterpoint she offers. People have seen the junkie movie before, you know, but Sara elevated this film into a story of how we all struggle with addiction. Heroin, to Aronofsky, is the least of it. When you're chasing after a future you're never going to get, you create a hole in the present. You use anything to fill that hole, whether that's drugs, or the dream of a better life.
Work fills the hole.
As, of course, do happy endings, Hollywood's holy grail, longed for but never found in Requiem for a Dream . Then again, it may be some time before he's wheeling out soft, cuddly Hollywood product. That's what tragedy is about. And tragedy is an art form that's been killed by Hollywood. I mean, with Requiem , the catharsis is really there for the audience the day after they've seen the movie.