Alright folks, Harry here... It seems from all that I've been reading about REQUIEM FOR A DREAM... it's for all of the black heart folks that enjoy the shadowy scary darker side of life. The people that love HAPPINESS and watch IN THE COMPANY OF MEN and SCHINDLER'S LIST often. At the same time, it is there for the Cronenberg and Waters fans.... that skewed 10 degree view of the universe. And from the reviews... it is a hell of a film. Just listen to Maidy here....
Hey Harry,
You know the drill, long time reader, first time writer. I've been waiting for a good screening to come along, and lo and behold, one came in the form of Requiem for a Dream. It's taken me a few days to recover before I was able to write about it. But here it is.
Requiem for a Dream stars Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, and Ellen Burstyn (who gives one of those performances that just makes you wonder if it's actually worth it), and is directed by Daren Aronosky. Giving a rundown of the plot is a little on the futile side, but basically, this is the story of four different forms of junkie and their slide into hell. Kind of like to Trainspotting without the humor, far more disturbing than Happiness. A bit hard to describe. However, lack of plot does not stop this movie from being pretty damn incredibly (in an incredibly disturbing way, that is).
There are shots used in this film that I don't know that I've ever seen before. Especially cool are the split screen sequences involving people in the same room, or in one case, in the same bed. It's also nice to see a drug movie that isn't all about gratuitous shots of people shooting up. While there are a few, and they completely make up for the lack of shots at the start of the movie, for the most part, the short-attention span montages that run whenever someone gets high are quite enough to inform the audience of what's going on. There's also an especially horrifying, and yet oh so cool scene involving a motivational speaker/game show host being lifted from the television to Ellen Burstyn's apartment, while staying in TV form. It's something you really have to see to understand.
The real core of Requiem is in its performances. Jared Leto is still a little too pretty boy to be a truly believeable junkie (and his accent is just laughable), but the rest of the cast makes up for him. Jennifer Connelly turns in a respectable performance as the requiste female junkie/turned prostitute of the film. Marlon Wayans is actually really terrific in a completely straight (ie,not funny at all) role. But Ellen Burstyn is the one that really steals this movie. She plays a nice, New York mother, who accidently happens to get hooked on speed, and it is just heart-wrenching. Besides the simple fact that she must have lost 50 or 60 pounds throughout the course of the movie, she tears herself up emotionally in as raw a manner as I have ever seen on screen. She has at least 4 scenes in this movie that just scream "Oscar Clip". By the end of the movie, I was more concerned for Ellen Burstyn than I was for her character. I'd almost convinced myself that she was really on something. Suffice it to say, if she doesn't get a nomination out of this, there is something seriously wrong with the Academy.
Having said all this, it's actually taking some doing for me to full-heartedly recommend this movie. It is such an attack on all the senses that you need to be a relatively strong person to make it through the screening. People actually did leave the theater at my screening because they felt nauseous. The movie becomes more and more brutal with each scene, culminating in a 20 minute non-stop montage that takes you to the pit of despair, and then just leaves you there. I spent the rest of the night in my local bar, desperately trying to drink away the memory of some of the more disturbing scenes in the movie (some of which I'd really like to share to prove my point, but I hate spoilers, so I'm not going to do it). Go to see this movie if you're looking for something that's really going to get to you. Be aware that you will not want a drug to come within 200 feet of you after you leave the theater, and this is not a feeling that goes away. But, if you are not one of the weak-hearted, do be sure to see this movie. If nothing else, it's something very different from what the rest of this movie season has had to offer. Very different indeed.
Maidy
