Fuck. No, really. Fuck x 10. What can I or anyone say
about this film? Some points to note:
1. Listen to the hype.
2. Don't go in with a full stomach.
3. When watching this film you lose notion of time, place, and reality.
4. If you want to make sure your children never stray within 200 miles of drugs, make them watch this film.
Fuck.
No-one is safe in this adaptation of Hubert J Selby's
novel (he also co-wrote the screenplay). Mother Sara
(Ellen Burstyn, whose acting tour-de-force equals that
of Bjork's recent turn in Dancer in the Dark) relishes
in the hope of appearing in her favourite TV
programme. Her dreams of losing weight to 'fit in the
red dress' lead to her addiction to diet drugs.
Her
only son also has dreams of becoming rich quick to
help his junkie girlfriend open up a boutique
featuring her fashion designs, and to finance his own
addiction to the needle. The performances, including a
cameo from Sean Gullette, the star in 28-year-old Darren
Aronofsky's previous film Pi, are riveting.
Fuck.
The cinematography, camera effects and pounding music
beat relentlessly between the three main actors, whose
dreams and hopes are thwarted by addiction. This film
doesn't give you time to breathe, and is so
overpowering that by the end the boundary between
fiction and reality - much like for the characters - is
blurred beyond recognition.
At the age of only 28, one
wonders where Aronofsky will progress from here. When
myself and a friend came out of the cinema, the only
thing we could utter for minutes was 'fuck'. Requiem
for a Dream is one of the most uncompromising pieces
of cinema that the BBFC has ever dared release.
Although somewhat depressing, the film is exceptional,
riveting, outstanding.... words fail me.
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