Requiem for a Dream
 
reviewed by Doug
Schneider Requiem
for a Dream’s opening scene portrays a frantic young man (played Jared
Leto) arguing with his mother. He’s come to steal her television and pawn it for
drugs. (While he’s a drug addict, she’s clearly a television addict). Terrified,
she locks herself in her room. She knows all too well, and we learn through this harrowing
film, that an addict will do just about anything to get their next fix. This is no dream;
it’s a nightmare.
This intriguing movie is the work of Darren Aronofsky. His
first feature was the low-budget, critically acclaimed Pi -- the story of a guy who
uses math to find God, the secret to the stock market, and just about everything else that
will explain why we’re here. Requiem sports a much higher budget and Aronofsky
uses it to show off exactly why he’s a major talent to watch.
Besides Leto, Requiem stars Ellen Burstyn, Jennifer
Connelly and Marlon Wayans. In one way or another everyone here gets addicted to drugs and
maintains a slow and steady downhill spiral. With skilled cinematography, rapid-fired
editing, and a fabulous musical score Aronofsky leads us into their twisted lives and
takes us on a disturbing road with each of them. This is not an easy movie to watch. It
is, in the end, a horrific nightmare that may shock and even offend many.
Still, as tough as it is to watch these characters, there
is something thoroughly engrossing and compelling about Aronofsky’s style. He allows
us to feel as though we're alongside the characters. There’s a wonderful scene in
which the mother (Burstyn) visits her incompetent and negligent doctor. She’s
addicted to diet pills and is beginning to hallucinate. It’s shot from the
mother’s perspective with a fish-eye lens. That one scene brings the audience closer
to being inside a character than any I can recall in recent memory.
And then there’s the film’s climax. I can’t
think of any horror film that was as scary to watch. Like I said, Requiem for a Dream is
not easy viewing, but it is unique, engaging and memorable. If the United States really
wants to win their War on Drugs, despite the fact that film was slapped with an NC-17
rating, it should be made mandatory viewing for every kid today. |
