REQUIEM FOR A DREAM
A Artisan Entertainment release 

review by Joseph B. Mauceri

SYNOPSIS: In the heart of Brooklyn, four people sacrifice their souls in pursuit of their dreams. Doomed from the start, we take the ride past the event horizon into the awaiting darkness and the despair resulting from their choices. It is a bleak tale of addiction that is a gripping urban horror story.

REVIEW: Hubert Selby Jr. is a modern Twain, his trips down the river takes readers into the heart of urban darkness. He creates poetry out of the vernacular from the characters who inhabit the streets, alleyways and shadows of the city. Transforming the novel and capturing those moments on the screen would require a unique visionary.

Director and screenwriter Darren Aronofsky rocketed into the morion picture industry with his brilliant black and white feature "Pi." Aronofsky and his guerrilla filmmakers exercised their unmatched style of cinematic narrative on an original postmodern science fiction parable.

REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is one of those rare moments in cinematic history where all the elements ¯ director, story and cast ¯ coalesce in a film that redefines the potential of the art form. Aronofsky uses all the tools of his craft and applies an innovative style to create a cinematic shorthand that speaks to the audience. Like the majority of the masterpieces hanging in the prestigious museums of the world, the composite images inform and stir emotions.

In order to achieve this wholeness, Aronofsky evokes performances from his cast that relies equally on body language and facial expressions as it does dialogue. Ellen Burstyn gives the performance of her career as the tragic Sara Goldfarb. It is a whole performance of a life trying to find meaning as it comes apart at the seams. Without a doubt, it is the first Oscar nomination worthy performance of the 2000 film season. Marlon Waynes is astounding. This young comedian shows he has the hustle and muscle to be taken seriously as an actor. I hope it does not sound like I'm underplaying the performances of Leto and Connelly. They take characters that could easily have become stereotypes and give them souls.

REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is rated NC-17. It is the first film I've seen to with that rating where I could not think of how possibly it could have been cut to get an R. It is not gratuitous, nor tries to glamorize this life style. In fact, the narrative is balanced by the Sara Goldfarb character. I think Aronofsky hit the nail on the head when he mentioned that the film is a realistic look at this side of life. The MPAA has no problem with fictional situations and stereotype characters. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is a living, breathing nightmare that jarringly reminds us of those skeletons in our family closets. Yes, it should be rated NC-17, but I think college sophomores should have the book and film become part of their curriculum. As Aronofsky also mention, it takes about two- hours after you've viewed the film for the realization to come that maybe our lives are not so bad when examined alongside Sara, Harry, Tyrone and Marion. I believe REQUIEM FOR A DREAM has the power to lead audiences back to the source material, while it renews our faith in the power of the cinema to profoundly influence our lives. It will have such an effect as to affect the vision and scope of films to come.

OFFICIAL WEB SITE:
http://www.requiemforadream.com

BACK