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Requiem For a Dream
Directed by – Darren Aronofsky
Starring – Ellen Burstyn (Sara Goldfarb), Jared Leto (Harry Goldfarb), Jennifer Connelly (Marion Silver), Marlon Wayans (Tyrone C. Love), Christopher McDonald (Tappy Tibbons)
Length – 97 minutes
Cert – 18 / NC-17

Darren Aronofsky followed up his ultra low budget indie hit p with an adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.'s 1978 novel Requiem For a Dream, and when it comes to anti-drug films, shows that we've certainly come a long way since Reefer Madness. As one of the most painful films to ever sit through, I couldn't even look at my own arm for about an hour after viewing.

Harry Goldfarb (Leto) is your young typical junkie who goes as far as pawning his mother's TV set just so he can afford to buy more drugs. His mother, Sara (Burstyn) buys the TV back because she's addicted to Tappy Tibbons' (McDonald) self-help infomercials. Harry's girlfriend Marion (Connelly) shares her boyfriend's addiction. Being a designer she wants to open a fashion store, which Harry helps her achieve, raising the cash by buying and selling drugs with his friend Tyrone (Wayans). Things start to go bad for the three of them when Tyrone is caught in the middle of a gang shootout. As for Harry's mother Sara, she's received a call telling her that she's been chosen to appear on a TV game show. In order to look her best, she becomes obsessed with losing weight so that she can wear the red dress she wore on Harry's graduation. Watching what she eats isn't having the desired effect, so she gets her doctor to prescribe her a set of diet pills, which begins to alter her behaviour.

The story here is more about the effects of addiction, and the best way to get that across is with drugs, and these drugs must be absolutely fantastic if these characters are willing to go through so much pain to do them. With drug deals ending in violence, there's soon no one to buy from, so Harry and Tyrone aim to go straight to a dealer from Brooklyn to Florida (!), while Marion prostitutes herself for drugs. Sara is so focused on fitting into her red dress that her addiction to losing weight gets her to substitute food for diet pills, something Harry berates his mother for doing; giving her advice he should be taking himself. Of course, the way Aronofsky tries to simulate the grim experience, putting the viewer through some torturous scenarios, is merely his way of showing the consequences.

When we know something is wrong for us, what is it that triggers our brain to say yes to it? Why do we give in to these demands? Put it down to the human need for instant gratification. There's a point where Harry tells Tyrone not to take the drugs they've brought with the intention of selling, feeling that they'll ruin their plan if they get wasted, only for Tyrone to suggest they "take a little taste so we know how much to cut." Using whatever excuse to justify their needs, deep down inside they both want it. Interestingly, despite the implications one would take from this scene, they actually do very well in earning money.

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