#darren aronofsky

Starring Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Ellen Burstyn, and Marlon Wayans

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Harry Goldfarb (Leto) lives the life of a petty criminal to fund his heroin addiction. Harry, his girlfriend Marion (Connelly), and his friend Tyrone (Wayans) envision lives of success, so they decide to begin dealing. However, when supply becomes limited, the three grow desperate, forcing themselves to dig deeper and deeper into trouble to feed their addiction. Meanwhile, Harry’s mother, Sara (Burstyn), spends her days sitting in front of the tv and vying for popularity amongst the older women in her building. When she receives a phone call from a television casting agency leading her to believe she has a shot of being a TV star, she resorts to extreme dieting methods in an attempt to preserve her perceived youth.

We see how drugs slowly ruins the characters’ lives in a variety of ways. On the surface, we see the physical manifestation of drug abuse. Harry’s arm requires amputation after he contracts a blood infection. Sara’s pills deteriorate her health, made obvious when she audibly grinds her teeth in others’ presence. Then theres the psychological effect of the drugs. Harry and Sara both suffer from traumatic hallucination.  The first time the film shows Tyrone and Harry getting high, we see how the pair fantasize about messing with a condescending police man, but are too incapacitated to do so, highlighting how drugs impair their ability to achieve their goals. Similarly, Harry points out how they won’t succeed as dealers if they’re judgement is impaired after shooting up. Drugs also put strain on relationships. Harry and Sara argue over the effect her diet amphetamines have on her, creating tension in their relationship. Tyrone is haunted by the feeling that he’s let his mother down. Marion and Harry fight incessantly once their supply dries up. All addicts have to make sacrifices. Initially, it’s a small price they pay. Harry gives up his mother’s television set with little remorse. But eventually, the characters stand to lose everything. Whether it’s Harry’s arm, Marion’s dignity, Tyrone’s freedom, or Sara’s shot at beauty and status, everybody ends up sacrificing something important to them.

Like many other films that focus on drug addiction, Requiem for a Dream draws comparisons between heroin and other forms of addiction. From the film’s opening shot of the sensationalist game show Sara watches (quite literally) religiously, it is clear television is her own way to escape reality and feel good about herself- her own drug. The same can be said for her love of food. Just like how any drug addict know they’re better of sober, Sara knows she should be dieting. However, when she tries sticking to just grapefruit and eggs, she goes through withdrawal. In a scene akin to the infamous Trainspotting baby nightmare, Sara is haunted by images of junk food. Aronofsky (dir) makes direct parallels between Sara’s vices and her son’s. The scene of her eating a sandwich is shot in the same manner as the scenes of him shooting up. The short montage of Sara making coffee is almost indistinguishable from her son prepping the needles.

The film also shows the dangers of trying to cheat your way through life. Tyrone and Harry always dreamed of being rich and successful, and the drug trade was supposed to be their short cut to a good life. Sara tries to cheat her way back to beauty and youth by losing weight and dying her hair. She even takes another short cut through that process, opting to take amphetamines instead of diet and exercise.

I was generally impressed by Requiem for a Dream. The cinematography was quick and effective, preventing the viewer from growing bored. I particularly liked when Aonofsky would divide the screen to make the shot more evocative. In this way, Requiem for a Dream is the cinematic equivalent to stream of consciousness literature, making it effective as a psychological film.

18/20

Black Swan (2010) dir. Darren Aronofsky.