Requiem for a Dream
- Director: Darren Aronofsky
- Writer: Hubert Selby, Jr. / Darren Aronofsky (from the book by Hubert Selby, Jr.)
- Producer: Eric Watson / Palmer West
- Studio:
- Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans
- Length: 102 min
- Genre: Drama
- MPAA Rating: NC-17
- My Rating: ****
- Oscar Nominations: Actress (Burstyn)
- Nightbird Nominations: Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actress (Burstyn), Editing, Cinematography, Original Score, Makeup
Requiem for a Dream was one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2000, and yet, when awards season came around, it was almost completely ignored by all awards groups, and its only Oscar nomination went to Ellen Burstyn. Despite the critical notice it seems as if it was just too real in its representation of the results of a drug-addled life.
This has helped the film to become somewhat forgotten. It is rarely shown on television, unlike several other acclaimed films of the same period, mostly because its content forbids airings on non-cable channels. The Lost Weekend, a controversial film about alcoholism, is a Disney movie compared to this.
The film follows four people (a mother, her son, his girlfriend, and his best friend), all of whom become addicted in some way to drugs. Sara, the mother, is a lower middle-class widow living in a retirement community. When she discovers that she may be a contestant on her favorite game show, she dyes her hair, starts eating better, gets a makeover, and tries out a new diet pill, which she quickly discovers that she cannot live without.
Her son, Harry, begins dealing drugs with his girlfriend and best friend. They decide that once they have made enough money, they’ll stop and become clean. Unfortunately, as often happens, they can’t seem to stop.
Their lives stay on a downward spiral over the coming seasons. The film begins in summer, when life is good and more or less innocent, when they still hold onto the belief that they can make things right. Fall is a difficult period, and winter, the final act, is a literal nightmare and one of the most harrowing and unsettling sequences ever filmed. Of course, there is no spring.
Requiem for a Dream is a straight, realistic drama that deals entirely in the world as we know it. It contains no supernatural elements or unexplainable occurences, and yet it is more of a horror film than most actual horror films. It is horrific and terrifying in its refusal to ever flinch away from the truth of addiction.
Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans each give the best performances of their careers, and Jennifer Connelly finally became respected as an actress with her performance here. But none of them can even hold a candle to Ellen Burstyn. This is quite possibly the best performance of her long and brilliant career, a tour de force of truth and unflinching honesty. When most actresses reach a certain age, they begin to insist that layers of makeup be applied to their faces so that someone might begin to think that they’re still thirty. Miss Burstyn, however, seems to relish the opportunity to look normal. She allows Darren Aronofsky to make her look increasingly worse and even frightening, but she never pulls back. She throws herself completely into the role and it is so refreshing to see an actress of her stature giving a performance like this instead of just sitting back and resting on her laurels.
Requiem for a Dream is a masterpiece in so many respects. Not only is it well made, well acted, and well directed, it is also one of those rare films with courage. It is a physically and emotionally draining film and it is certainly not for everyone. If it were for everyone, it wouldn’t be nearly as good.
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