Requiem for a Dream

Requiem for a Dream
Starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans
Directed by Darren Aronofsky

When I tell people "Requiem for a Dream" is one of my top five favorite films of all time and that I've seen it numerous times, they're shocked at the fact that I've seen it so many times - not because it's a terrible film, but its so mentally draining and depressing that most people can only stomach one viewing.  To me, the film is a picture of perfection, a movie that demands at least one viewing to understand the downward spiral the affects drugs have on a person's entire life, a film that's unrelenting and never lets go of you even after it ends, resulting in an extraordinary experience that'll remain with you.

The film follows the lives of four different addicts.  Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) is a widowed elderly woman living in a dank, depressing apartment alone, and relegates herself to watching an infomercial over and over again, dreaming of being on television one day.  She gets a call from a television show telling her she's going to be on television, and wants to wear a special red dress, but can't fit into it anymore.  After trying dieting, she resorts to diet pills to get her to her goal weight, all the while slowly slipping into a world of madness inside her own head.

Sara's son Harry (Jared Leto), his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly), and his best friend Ty (Marlon Wayans) are heroin addicts who make money selling drugs, as well as stealing from Sara, especially her coveted television set that she chained to the radiator to prevent it from being taken.  Harry and Marion plan on eventually opening a clothing design store due to Marion's love for designing dresses, and Ty wants to make his mother proud by earning a living, even though it's through less-than-reputable means.  When the drug trade dries up, the two friends take a trip to Florida to score more drugs, while Marion resorts to prostitution to pay for her habit.  

There's been countless films about drug use and its dangers, but Darren Aronofsky (based off a novel by Hubert Stanley Jr.) takes it to an unbelievable new level, and crafts one of the most haunting non-horror horror movies ever created.  Horror movies themselves are enjoyable and memorable, but films like this are downright haunting and latches onto you mentally for a lot longer.  It's an unabashed look at the dangers of drug use and the effects it has on people, and strays away from the traditional Hollywood happy ending - you're not going to find any glimmer of hope in this 102 minute visual nightmare.

"Requiem" is defined as "a Mass for the repose of the souls of the dead," and that perfectly encapsulates this film.  We witness the dreams of these characters:  Sara wants to be on television, Harry wants to be successful, Marion wants to own her own clothing company, and Ty wants to make his deceased mother proud - and we also see these dreams slowly fall apart and hear their own requiems for their forever unattainable dreams.  We see how these characters are hurting throughout most of the film, until they get their fix, but all too soon it wears off and we're back to their depressing lives.  It shows the futility of drug use as a way to escape the world - you can never escape the world in this way, and it only makes it more unbearable once you come down from it.

Most of the time the film rises and falls with its cast, and while the cast is obviously praiseworthy, Darren Aronofsky spared no expense in stimulating all of our senses at once.  In 2000, he utilized some never-before-used tricks to showcase the tonal madness of drug abuse, most notably the steady-cam view of each character in certain moments that heightens the tension, as well as jarring blurred and shaky lenses as their descent into their own requiem takes full effect.  There's also unique camera cuts - especially the beginning between Sara and Henry and later between Henry and Marion - where the camera splits the screen between the two characters even though they're occupying the same space.  Also, when the characters partake in the drugs of their choice, it cuts to several quick successions of the drug being introduced, injected (or shot), the pupils dilating, and the end result. It leaves chills down your spine, and even moreso due to the unforgettable soundtrack.

That soundtrack comes from composer Clint Mansell, who adds to the film a completely chaotic sense that permeates through every scene.  His most notable work from the film is the indelible, eternally tormented score known as "Lux Aeterna" (Latin for "eternal light") that's been used in countless other film trailers, video games, and sporting teams' promotional materials and entrance music.  The score itself is eerie, with the strings being strung in such violent ways that expresses an end to all things, and even though it's been overused in most areas, it still leaves a lasting impact that can't be denied.

The performances themselves also add to the loss of innocence and complete and utter depravity.  Jennifer Connelly tackles her most challenging role ever as the heroin addicted Marion, who resorts to unspeakable acts to provide for her fix.  Marlon Wayans sheds any sense of his well-known comedic timing as Ty, who's also a slave to his addiction as well as trying to find the next big score to be successful.  Jared Leto is well-known for taking on off-the-wall roles, and here he truly shines as Harry, the only child of Sara who steals from her but eventually wants to make everything right, but goes about it in all the wrong ways that puts everyone he loves in jeopardy, including himself.

Yet the film's bleeding heart comes from the spellbinding, downright depressing performance by Ellen Burstyn, a woman who's no stranger to accolades (winning the Oscar for her performance in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"), but who will be eternally robbed of her second Oscar after being nominated here (losing to Julia Roberts in "Erin Brockovich").  As Sara Goldfarb, Burstyn bursts with depressive energy as the most relatable character in the film, and whose role will make us want to re-visit our elderly relatives more often.  Her husband is gone, and her son Harry is pretty much out of the picture, and it's just her, a small dank apartment, an old television set, and her elderly friends that she spends some time with, but it's never the same.  We see the eternal hurt and anguish in her eyes, but as she receives word that she'll be on television, we see a small spark of light in her eyes that gives her a new vigor - but she wants to fit into her favorite red dress (the one she wore to Harry's graduation).  To do this she starts a diet, but instead she resorts to diet pills prescribed by a doctor (in another harrowing scene we see the doctor not even paying any attention to her when she visits), but as the pills don't have the desired effect, she begins taking more and more, messing with her mind.

Burstyn provides the most memorable moments in the film, and truly the most heartbreaking.  There's a scene where Harry comes to visit, and she talks about how alone, old, and useless she feels, and that she wants to be on television not for herself, but to brag about how proud she is of her son and her deceased husband.  According to imdb, in an interesting trivia fact, during that scene, cinematographer Matthew Libatique accidentally let the camera drift off-target.  When director Aronofsky called "cut" and confronted him about it, he realized the reason Libatique had let the camera drift was because he had been crying during the take and fogged up the camera's eyepiece.  This was the take used in the final print.  When you see this scene, you'll never forget it - it's one of the most darkly beautiful scenes in modern film, and yet another moment in this film where you'll get the goosebumps all over.

Led by a fearless director and including spellbinding performances, a haunting soundtrack, visual superiority, and a timeless issue, "Requiem for a Dream" remains one of the most important films in recent cinematic history, a film that's harrowing and difficult to watch, but one that demands to be seen.

The Score: A+