Requiem For A Dream
In many ways, Darren Aronofskyâs much praised 2000 film is the most potent anti-drug work ever made, showing how quickly and how easily heavy drug use and addiction can turn you into a rock bottom loser with no chance of climbing back up. The story depicts the spiritual and physical downfalls of its four main characters, starting with Harry (Jared Leto), a punk kid who routinely steals his momâs TV set to pawn off for a quick fix, only to have his heroin habit result in him getting the nastiest gangrene infection in cinema history. Leto, long known for his blasĂ© pretty boy roles, is arguably the weakest of the four principals in terms of acting, but his journey is terrifying nonetheless. His best friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) comes up with an insane scheme to get rich and get out of the ghetto by buying up dope and reselling it at a higher price (all the while they maintain their habit), as he does everything he can to get connected and possibly even work for the local drug dealers, until a turf war causes things to dry up. Those who know Wayans for his silly comedy roles will be surprised with the maturity of his acting here, building empathy for his character as he foolishly thinks he will one day get out of the gutter. Then thereâs Harryâs girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connolly), a beautiful spoiled rich girl who has sex with her therapist so that her parents wonât cut her off, and when it does happen (and her boyfriend canât seem to score any drugs either), is forced to resort to straight up prostitution in order to feed her habit. Connolly, always gorgeous, also manages to show her vulnerable side right up to her participation in a horrifyingly scummy sex show for rich businessmen (âAss to ass!â). Then there is Harryâs mother Sara (Ellen Burstyn), a TV-addicted widow who is already slightly senile when we first meet her, who one day receives a phone call with a flimsy offer to appear on TV, which causes her to obsess about losing weight, which then leads to an addiction to weight loss pills, causing her to hallucinate and descend into full-fledged dementia. That Burstyn delivers the strongest performance here is a given (considering her Best Actress Oscar Nomination), but she is also the one that the viewer feels most sorry for, since unlike the others, she was never looking to become an addict but rather fell into it due to having a negligent doctor writing her prescriptions willy-nilly when it should have been obvious that she wasnât lucid enough to deal with that kind of thing. Other noteworthy casting moves include Christopher âShooter McGavinâ McDonald as the self help talk show host that Burstyn is obsessed with; Louise Lasser as one of her old bitty neighbors; Dylan Baker as a suspicious doctor; and the one and only Keith David as a dealer with plenty of smack who refuses to sell it but instead does business by attracting pretty little junkie girls for sex (which draws Connolly like a moth to a flame). Aronofsky uses an editing style involving far more cuts than your average movie, especially when a character uses drugs in a series of fast snips (roll, light, smoke), but by the halfway mark weâve been subjected to this method so many times that the film almost hits a monotony with the repetitive technique, until things get rolling for the big ending. Also, some plot points and motivation go by so fast or are not explained at all (WHY did Wayans and Leto just decide to up and drive down to Florida?) that the viewer might get a little confused at times. Most of the time though, Aronofskyâs style is hypnotic, with poignant shots and the use of split screens along with a number of bits where characters are so high they seem to be floating along through a scene instead of walking. This all leads to the amazing final 20 minutes, an unforgettable ongoing montage of one rapid fire edit after another showing each character going to their respective fates, which becomes so intense to the point that itâs practically overwhelming. Overall, a tragic look at how stupidity and naivetĂ© can destroy the most promising of livesâŠ
8/10