Réquiem para um Sonho

Requiem for a Dream (2000), is a human character-study on film. Darren Aronofsky's, crazy, drug-induced, rollercoaster-ride, gives that 1980s feel to the viewer, throughout the whole film. It has a fantastic calling to that old-Hollywood-style of filmmaking. The best component to this film is most definitely, the acting. Ellen Burstyn is Sara Goldfarb, a retired couch-potato, who is addicted to a bad self-help TV show, that cons her into believing she can lose weight if she uses certain drugs. These pharmaceuticals eventually destroy her mind and create a horrible addiction for her. Meanwhile, her dead-beat son, Harry (Jared Leto), comes up with the brilliantly dumb idea of creating a haven for himself, his friend Tyrone (Marlan Wayans) and Harry's girlfriend, Marion (Jennifer Connelly), by getting into the street-drug business. Unfortunately, he and his friends are now all junkies and things don't go so well as planned.

This film is not for the squeamish. It involves many horrible aspects of life. It shows the terrible things human beings are capable of doing, to themselves and the consequences, of such poor decision-making. Requiem for a Dream (2000), does manage to pull at your emotions and makes you feel, very sorry for these people. I won't say anymore, but there is a reason why Ellen Burstyn was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for this film. The directing, camera-work and editing, is fantastic. Aronofsky's direction is quite fitting, for the drug-incited delusions seen in the film. Jennifer Connelly's performance is staggeringly good. She definitely leaves her comfort zone for this film. For myself, Requiem for a Dream (2000), was shocking, brought out many emotions and contained a life-lesson, we should all pay attention to.

PMTM Grade: 9.0 (A-) = 9 IMDB.

I went to this movie hearing plenty of buzz about how graphic the content was. Over the course of the movie you see just how Aronofsky wants to send his message to the audience. The characters start off with somewhat mild addictions and then next thing you know the four main characters are living in hell. I couldn't believe how low they all fell. This movie may be the greatest anti-drug message of all time. I dare anybody to watch this and to not be touched and frightened by these characters. Before the movie started I noticed the audience was quite loud and garrulous, but as it ended and the credits rolled the whole place was stone cold silent. It was amazing.

As a whole I felt the movie was excellent. The visuals were well done and the editing was outstanding. The actors really put themselves into their roles. Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly had very good chemistry, while Marlon Wayans showed he is a talented actor and not just a talented comic. Ellen Burstyn. Wow! She was amazing. I can't believe an older woman would allow herself to be filmed like that. She has some serious guts. Hands down the best female performance I've watched this year, not even close. I was totally amazed by her.

All in all, I would say Requiem For a Dream is a great movie. It had a profound impact on me and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I watched it on opening night. I definitely recommend this movie to anyone. This is a movie everyone should see, but unfortunately not enough will.

This movie is about how drugs can affect your life. Watching this movie really hurts. If you want to convince someone to stop doing drugs / live more healthy this is the movie to do it. Great acting (especially by Ellen Burstyn) and a realistic / convincing story but man is it painful to watch. This is the kind of movie you are happy to have watched at some point but you don't want to rewatch it because it is a real mood killer.

9/10 would recommend if you are looking for a heavy, dramatic movie.

This ranks up there as one of the three most powerful movies I have ever seen in my lifetime (Full Metal Jacket and Grave of The Fireflies being the other two). This movie shows the brutal honest side of addiction and over-indulgence. Not just drugs, although it heavily shows drug addiction. Also shows how one addiction can lead to another and how damaging it can be for you. I watched this alone, and felt so stunned afterwards, I had to call a friend just to calm my nerves. Seriously, this is a brutal (one more time) BRUTAL film. The acting is wonderful - Ellyn Burnstyn and Jenniffer Connely are just wonderful in this movie, and Marlon Wayons was such a shocker in a serious role. Everyone must watch it, for it's entertainment value, and more importantly, it's educational value. But it leaves chills down your spine for it's honesty and unforgiving lessons.

This movie is the most disgustingly beautiful and horrifying movie.