I sometimes forget what the cinematic medium is capable of. Too often I am lured into a false sense of complacency by mediocre films. Thankfully, every so often a film like Requiem for a Dream comes along and sends an electric shock down my spine, resuscitating me to the joys and possibilities of the medium. Requiem for a Dream is more than just a great film, it is a stunning one. The film is a character study of four miserable people who escape into drug addiction for various reasons. The elderly Sara Goldfarb is tricked into believing that she will star on a television show, so she quickly becomes addicted to amphetamines and sedatives to help her lose weight. Her son Harry, his girlfriend Marion Silver, and his best friend Tyrone C. Love are hooked on heroin. Soon, they begin to sell it on the streets, intending to use the money to escape from the poverty that rules their lives. All four see drugs as a means to an end. They're tools, y'see? As soon as they lose the weight, as soon as they get the money, as soon as they can leave the ghetto, they'll stop. But they can't stop. Sara slowly loses her mind as the drugs eat away at more than just her body fat. When Tyrone is caught in the middle of a gang war assassination, they have to spend all of their savings posting bail. Of course, what with the war, it becomes impossible to get any more heroin. So Marion starts to prostitute herself in exchange for drugs. Harry's injection arm becomes so infected that it has to be removed. This is not an easy film to watch. Director Darren Aronofsky uses such rapid-fire filmmaking and editing techniques that the audience can barely keep up. Truthfully, I haven't seen such a cinematic lights and pyrotechnics show since the glory days of Oliver Stone. Aronofsky fires on all cylinders and then throws the empty gun at the audience. Requiem for a Dream might, in fact, be the greatest film on drug addiction ever made. Just don't expect it to be like anything you have ever seen before.
10/10
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