Requiem for a Dream

Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn and Jennifer Connolly star in this psychological drama co-written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. Based on the novel by Hubert Selby Jnr, the film follows heroin addicts Harry (Leto) and Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) as they look to make some cash as drug dealers. Accompanied by Harry’s girlfriend Marion (Connolly), the trio attempt to get their business off the ground but are soon hit by a number of problems. With their Florida supplier cutting back on distribution and Tyrone sent to jail for his involvement in a gang shooting, Harry is forced to travel to Miami to try and score the drugs while Marion is forced into prostitution in order to feed her habit. Meanwhile, Harry’s mother Sara (Burstyn) becomes addicted to weight loss pills and is hospitalised after suffering from debilitating hallucinations. The cast also includes Christopher McDonald, Louise Lasser and Marcia Jean Kurtz.
Fantasy mixes with the harsh reality of addiction and the desire for hope in Requiem for a Dream. Beginning at the dawn of a new summer in Coney Island, the film charts the relationship of Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) and her son Harry (Jared Leto)–two characters who are lost with in a world of the self-absorbed desire to feed their addictions at the cost of hope and love. With a sublime score (performed by the Kronos Quartet) accompanying some intense visual imagery, the film sets up an almost fairy-tale wash over the characters’ lives, with every hit of their chosen drug turning them into beautiful people surrounded by a haze which enhances all their features. However, unlike films such as Trainspotting which turn the dream into a nightmare then end with a huge dose of hope, Requiem for a Dream forces the viewer through all loss of hope and the descending madness of reality, as winter begins.
Darren Aronofsky’s follow-up to the critically acclaimed Pi is a movie which exposes not only the terror caused by addiction of any kind–be it TV or Heroin–but also offers a powerful insight into the destruction caused by the desire to achieve “the American Dream”. Based on the novel by Hubert Selby Jr, the film sacrifices dialogue in favour of imagery and movement: the editing and cinematography are reminiscent of MTV, however the movie takes this very aggressive style and moulds it to its own needs, adding a beautifully haunting narrative and powerful performances by its four main characters (Burstyn just missing out on an Oscar for Best female lead to Julia Roberts). Ultimately the viewer is left with a sense of desperation and despair: Requiem for a Dream exposes drugs and addiction in the most powerful and truthful way a film has ever managed, leaving no stone unturned.