Requiem
for a Dream
(2000)
Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 1 Hour and 42 Minutes
Reviewer: Dale
Grade: AAt the end of this movie, I knew that the guys I was with wanted to stay through the credits. Perhaps they were even too hooked not to stay through them. But I had to get out. I had to escape from the darkness and into the light of the lobby. You see, I couldn't take it anymore.
And I don't mean I couldn't take it any more for the reasons that I wanted to rush out of "The Grinch" as fast as my legs could carry me. No, no. I wanted out because it was too much.
Just too much. I was slightly disappointed by the movie at first, but that was only because I was expecting the movie to be the most disturbing movie ever made. It isn't quite that, perhaps, but it is only the most fucked-up person's idea of a picnic.
"Requiem" is a trip through Hell and Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn, Marlon Wayans and Jennifer Connelly do magnificent jobs of putting faces to the Damned. It is every bad acid trip rolled into one. It is mesmerizing and thought-provoking and terrifying. It rubs the nerves raw and creates an experience that is almost too much to bear. It's not that there is any one moment that is more disturbing than anything I have ever seen. It's just that the sum total of these dark moments, daisy-chained together for a harrowing two hours, is very, very grim. Even two days later, whenever I think of this movie, I feel myself get depressed a little. I think of Jared Leto's arm, ravaged by drug use just as his brain has been. I think of Ellen Burstyn and the way she has began to look like a Holocaust victim by the end of the film. I think of the horrible smile that crosses Jennifer Connelly's face near the end. And I just want to burn these images from my brain. They hurt a little too much.
Aronofsky has fashioned a hellish film that should deter all but the stupidest of people from punishing themselves with drugs. He goes a bit too far sometimes, I think, not that it's entirely a bad thing. And none of the points he makes are really anything that an intelligent person would not have already discovered about drug use just by thinking about it for a while. But it is a gripping and haunting film with images that may even be more impactful a few days later than they are upon first viewing. I think many of the moments here are meant simply to shock the viewer, and that is why they never seemed as organic to me as they should have. I felt that, at times, Aronofsky bludgeons us with images rather than just letting the plights of his characters speak for themselves. But there are enough moments where the plights of the characters do the talking. Enough quiet moments that are totally without cinematic trickery that do their job just as well as the ones that do resort to tricks. The tricks are astounding, and superb, but many of them never drew me in as anything but tricks. This is why I think that Aronofsky may just go too far a couple of times.
But still, it is definitely a scary film (not as scary and disturbing as "The Exorcist", but it gets points just for trying) and one that will haunt you afterwards. It is a totally unique and chilling ride for which Ellen Burstyn deserves an Oscar. So does Marlon Wayans (of all people). Even the bright moments (and there's only one moment of the film that I can think of that lives up to that description) are underscored with ominous music that just makes you dread the price that the characters may pay for such moments. And none of the images here chilled me to the bone the way that the dead baby in "Trainspotting" did. But it is still far from pleasant and should be required viewing for Robert Downey Jr.
Though it is a trip that I won't be taking any time soon, thank you very much. A good movie, but once is more than enough.
Reviewer: Jones
Grade: A+
Dreams..... We all have them. Large and small. Possible and impossible. They are one of many things that bind is into that collective society, known as humanity, that we are all members of in whatever way we choose to do so. Some dreams are realized and others are never pursued. Some are viewed as dreams and nothing more and still others are fit to reside in this category, but some choose to pursue them despite the dangers that lurk within.
This is the subject matter that director Darren Aronofsky illustrates brilliantly with a film that is unlike anything I have ever seen, or that I likely ever will see.
Powerful. Profound. Thought provoking. Awe inspiring. Gripping. Heart wrenching. Disturbing. Bleak. These are all words that I would use to describe this film if someone were to ask me to share my thoughts about it.
It is, doubtless, the most powerful film I have ever seen. I literally could not move afterwards. Shivers were coursing throughout my body, as a numbness fell over me. Here I am, hours later, and I still feel numb. It had invaded my inner self and raped me of any innocence I may have had left. I am thankful for that. The world has no place for innocence and this movie illustrates that beautifully and disturbingly all at the same time.
"Requiem For a Dream" is, on the surface, a study of four people and their addictions.
Beneath the surface it is a torrent of emotional hardship that manifests itself throughout the movie in the descent of the four principal characters into their own, respective, personal hell as a result of these addictions. If you haven't figured out by now, this film would not be described as fun for the whole family. Those with a weak stomach need not apply. It is not a fun ride by any means. It is quite the opposite really. It is much like a car wreck in that you don't want to look, but curiosity gets the better of you and you look anyway. You are horrified by what you see, but you keep looking because you don't want to miss anything. If for no better reason than that it will make for fascinating conversation at the water cooler the next day. Society is sick and we all know it. I know it, you know it, and Darren Aronofsky knows it and he has chosen to show us society's grim underbelly to us just in case we had any doubts left.
In his view of that grim underbelly reside Sara (a dear old lady who dreams of being on television one day and spends every waking moment in front of her "fix" the television), her son Harry (he dreams of making enough money so that he can set his girlfriend up with a clothing store that she has always wanted to open), his girlfriend Marion (she dreams of the life that Harry wants to give her, as well as recognition from her parents) and their friend Tyrone (he dreams of a life without drugs, but he is conflicted because he feels he needs them as a means to that end).
The film begins in the summer and all is well. Sara has received a phone call that has informed her of the impending realization of her dream: she is going to be on television. She has a wonderful red dress that would be perfect for the show, but she finds that she has expanded since the last time she wore it. She begins dieting in an effort to squeeze herself into the aforementioned dress with limited results. In the meantime Harry and Tyrone have hatched a plan to make a big score through the sale of heroin. Marion is anticipating the realization of her clothing store given the current success of Harry and Tyrone's plan.
All is well on the surface, but come Fall that raging torrent of activity beneath the surface begins to show itself. Sara's attempts at dieting have failed. She still cannot find her way into that dress. Out of desperation she makes an appointment with a doctor one of her friends informed her of. He gives her a prescription that leads to results, but not without consequences. Harry and Tyrone have fallen on hard times and have run out of stuff to sell. Out of options Marion engages in sex with her shrink to get them the money they need.
Things are spiraling out of control and this is just the beginning. They still have the Winter to make it through.
Sara becomes addicted to her diet pills. Tyrone, Harry and Marion have fully transformed from recreational drug users into full fledged addicts. There are no kind words that can be applied to the final chapter of this story. I don't care how jaded you think you are. You will find yourself shocked, damaged and dismayed as you continue to watch the car wreck unfold before your very eyes. You will want to look away, but you won't. You won't find find yourself titillated by Marion's depraved sex acts. You will be horrified by heroin being injected into a gangrenous arm. You will and won't be a great many things throughout the course of this film. What I can tell you for certain, is that you will be forever changed. I know I am.
This film is unrated and for good reason: it shows society for what it is. It is not a pleasant thing to see, but it is something that we owe it to ourselves to see. This film should be mandatory viewing in health classes worldwide. If you ever want to think about doing drugs again, or for the first time, after seeing this movie then you either just don't get it, or you are just flat out stupid.
The performances are all, to say the least, incredible. Ellen Burstyn gives the performance of a lifetime as Sara. She is going to give Julia Roberts some serious competition for Best Actress honors. Jennifer Connelly is equally magnificent as Marion. She should be handed the Best Supporting Actress right now. She is nothing short of astounding. It's hard to believe that this is the same sweet, innocent girl that stole my heart in "Labyrinth" so many years ago. Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans give great performances as well. That is a sentence that I never thought I would utter in a million years. They deserve it though. Marlon proves to be a Wayans brother with considerable talent and Leto proves that he is not just another pretty face.
I must applaud all four of these wonderful actors and actresses for displaying the courage to take on roles such as these. These are roles that are nothing but degrading and require a large amount of bravery to bring to life. For that they should be applauded. For doing it so well: they should be rewarded.
I can think of no better way to describe this film than in the way that Darren Aronofsky chose to. He described it as something akin to jumping out of a plane with no parachute on and having the film end three minutes after you hit the ground.
Finally 2000 has a film that has the same sort of daring ingenuity that so many films did in 1999. The cinematography is nothing short of jawdropping. The editing is frantic, yet perfect.
It is for lack of a better word flawless. Movies like this don't come down the pike very often. With less than a month to go in the year "Requiem For a Dream" stands as the undisputed best picture of 2000.
If you think you have the stomach for it coupled with the mental toughness that is required to make it through the ordeal that is "Requiem For a Dream", you owe it to yourself to be put to the test. You and humanity will be the better for it.