Requiem for a Dream: Drugs and Depression

For this week’s movie club we have the disturbing drug film Requiem for a Dream.

REQUIEM FOR A DREAM

DIRECTOR: Darren Aronofsky

STARRING: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Christopher McDonald

GENRE: Psychological drama

YEAR: 2000

COUNTRY: United States

Requiem for a Dream exposes four paralleled individuals and their menacing addiction to heroin, cocaine, and diet pills (speed). Taking place in Brooklyn amidst the waning Coney Island, the drugs are very easily obtained and keep each main character in its cycle of dependence. The protagonist Harry Goldfarb is your typical heroin junky with an ambitious plan of “Getting off hard knocks,” with help from his cocaine crazed girlfriend Marion and his long time friend Tyrone. Meanwhile his widowed mother is obsessed with the glamor of television and eventually finds her way to a dietitian who pushes her into the cycle of drug induced enslavement.

This film made me uncomfortable, and I am partially okay with that. For Darren Aronofsky’s second film, he made on hell of an impression. Requiem has to be one of the few times I have ever been uncomfortable watching a movie. While the subject matter is quite a touchy subject for me (not alluding to anything, just don’t like talking about it), I have to say Leto and Connelly portrayed drug addicts perfectly. Their performances caused me to actually care about what is happening to them. What?

Overall, I wouldn’t say I enjoyed the film per say. As a fan of films, this one wasn’t my cup of tea, but it was definitely worth a watch. As a filmmaker, I marvel at what Aronofsky was able to accomplish with a shoestring of a budget. From the well shoved down my throat theme of depression and addiction to the hyper cut drug scenes, you will find something you like about Requiem. What kind of drugs does it take to enjoy this? I’m not exactly sure by dealer’s choice.

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