 ""I just want to be on television"" | 2009-09-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: AVN00ASBFTMN6 |
I have an idea, and that I idea is to show every drug related class in america "Requiem for a Dream". It will haunt your dreams forever, and make you never want to pick up even a cigarette. It's not a pleasant experience to watch, but is nonetheless amazing and unforgettable. It follows the lives of four regular people in brighton beach brooklyn:
Sarah Goldfarb: A older woman who has these big dreams of seeing herself and son Harry on television, in the dress she wore back in her prime.(She is played magnificently by Ellen Burnstyn, who deserves every oscar she can get)
Harry Goldfarb; A good kid, who like many others takes the wrong path, and wonders into the drug trade with his pal tyron.
Marion Silver: Harry's girlfriend, who in desparation for drugs turns to doing unthinkable things.
Tyron. C.Love: Harry's business partner. As a young boy, he didn't want nothing more then to make his mother proud, by becoming successful.
Each get addicted to different types of drugs "Mainly speed and crack", and for 120 minutes we stare in horror as each of their lives sink further into a gaping hole of despair. Aronofoski uses different types of techniques like slowly down time, random loud noises, and shooting everything from a fishcam angle, to make an authentic experience of being on drugs. And it works. We as the audience feel as if were becoming insane, the scene where Sarah's refridgerator attacks her has got to be one of the most disturbing things I've ever witnessed. In the end all of their lives and dreams are crushed(what you were expecting a happy ending?)and we are left to cry for these poor souls. But out of all of the sorrow "Requiem" makes us feel, something really good comes out of it. A warning. |
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| "Feeding Frenzy" | 2009-07-21 |
| - Reviewed By User: A12RMAJXRPQWTY |
I wondered as I watched this if anybody is capable of putting more into a role than Ellen Burstyn (Sara Goldfarb) did in this film. It seems to me that she pushed the envelope here. She did just about everything except evaporate into thin air as she portrayed the effects of speed addiction and electroshock therapy. The other actors performed very credibly, but Burstyn is what made this film special.
As many other reviewers at this site have pointed out, this film powerfully displays the hazards of substance abuse. Drugs destroy one's ability to take care of one's self. The world is tough enough when you are strong and healthy; the sea is full of sharks who will consume you if you are not. This film could have been subtitled "Feeding Frenzy."
The script, direction, and acting (Burstyn) were all great. The musical score (Clint Mansell) helped drive it all
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 "My Rating Really Reflects How I feel" | 2009-07-15 |
| - Reviewed By mwarren122 |
Before Requiem For a Dream was done, I was torn on just how I felt about it. At one point, it seems just so obvious, especially since I already know that drugs can ruin your life. To make matters worse, many drug addicts have been able to lead productive lives (musicians, some friends of mine) , so it seemed kind of ignorant and snobbish to preach to everyone that this is exactly what happens when you become addicted. However, that doesn't mean it can't happen what happens here, and while the outcome at the end may not exactly
Requiem for a Dream IS an ejoyable movie, and the characters are actually quite good. One common complaint is how predictable this movie is. However, while the moral of the story is pretty obvious, the story is actually good. And Requiem for a Dream succeeds because it's a good story (in my eyes) regardless of it's originality. Execution further seals the deal in why I like this movie. So don't tell it's oh so obvious, or any of that bull____, I don't care. It's a good story and that's all that matters to me.
Requiem For a Dream, in my opinion, is not as much of a style bleeder as his previous film, Pi, but it's still a fine piece of film making (though not entirely outstanding). While the cyber-black and white is gone, and the movie does not use any hyperstylistic colors (such as a David Lynch movie), the film score and his fantastic work behind the camera make up for it. His use of extreme rapid motion close up shots is upped the ante, there are more than 2000. Particularly, the drug depictions are ace to watch, and are even highlighted brillianty with sound effects. Some minor special effects abound as well. As far as camera angles go, well, techincally, no idea what he uses. But those nervous shaky shots, the follow shots, and other shots, well just check them out. The score backs it all up, and features the great Kronos Quartet.
So what about the story? The addictions of the four people all intertwine, and in the end, everybody suffers. some really I can get pretty cynical when movies try to make me feel sympathetic (art, in my opinion, can be nothing but manipulating disguised as genuine affection). It's really sad, because while these characters are a bit normal, they do possess common charactersitcs lot's of people share. Romantic relationships, the need to get away from the street, wanting to pursue dreams such as selling your passions to others all tie into the characters, but endless addictions ultimately lead to the downfall. The characters are likeable, and the couple of Harry and Marolyn are actually likeable and It's quite sad to see them detiorate (hard for me, because I could care less about the couples of Titanic, and Casablanca). Watching them happy together at the beginning is tragic, because, in the end, he isn't even able to physically hold her like he used to. When the movie finally ends, poignancy will most likely shoot through you more than the drugs themselves.
Make no mistake, Requiem For a Dream's message is obvious, and the drug message may not be presented creativily in terms of plot. But it somehow manages to step the cliches a bit and be a poignant film. It's not perfect, but it's a film that really does a great job with it's message and doesn't turn into a preachfest. Reccomended with Pi in the Requiem For A Dream/PI (Two Pack).
B- |
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| "This Movie Should Be Given A 10" | 2009-07-04 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1AFOZK4W9GRHJ |
| I have watched this movie many times and never tire of it. There is only two movies that I can say "PERFECT" #1 Blade Runner #2 Requiem For A Dream. If you haven't seen it, you're in for a huge treat. Not for kids at all. |
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| "A sigh of pleasure can turn into a life of misery" | 2009-05-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: A161MKO5URVFKE |
| This movie is very powerful. It is almost a sure fire way to make sure that you never do drugs, it's that good. It also has phenomanal acting and directing. Seriously see this. |
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 "Not for the squeamish." | 2009-04-20 |
| - Reviewed By nukephynhighpriest |
This is the response to Alex Proyas's "Dark City." What if you go from a small patch of light into hell? Darren Aronofsky repeats his seven-rapid-repeated shots technique from Pi in this painful film, "Requiem for a Dream" adapted from a story by Hubert Selby Jr. by Selby and Aronofsky. He also plays tribute to the shot of Jennifer Connelly at the end of a pier from Proyas's "Dark City" (it is even the same pier).
The film is painful to watch, but difficult to call "beautiful," for it fails to say anything new. Its soul message: drug addiction dehumanizes you and kills relationships. This film documents four character's abandonment of hope, and ends at the twilight of their despair.
The four principal actors do excellent jobs, and in a better world Ellen Burstyn's performance would have been carved out of this film's context and awarded an Oscar. Jennifer Connelly also delivers an excellent understated performance of how drug addiction can affect the shallow.
Sara Goldfarb (Burstyn) is a lonely widow who has invested all her dreams in the success of her worthless son Harry (Jared Leto), and passes her days fixed on television. In a dream of some self-fulfillment, she hopes to go on television herself, and begins a prescription drug diet plan at the hands of an unscrupulous doctor. Hell follows, and Burstyn's performance is so realistic you will weep real tears.
Harry is a wastrel crack fiend with his best friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) and girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) (her attraction to the colorless Harry is never explained, and to me is unlikely). Harry has a moment of limited insight and becomes an entrepreneur on the crack scene, with predictable results. But his intentions are good: he is trying to finance a store to feature clothes designed by Marion.
The setting is Brooklyn Beach and the collection of lower middle class second generation Jewish immigrants and their widows clinging to the old neighborhood (look for Louise Lasser in a cameo role). This neighborhood and residents was made famous by Victor Niederhoffer's "Education of a Speculator" and it was nice to see many details of his reminiscences captured on film. |
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