Movie Review: Requiem for a Dream · 12:20am Mar 2nd, 2020
I've been meaning to watch this film for a long time now, but I've never really bothered to follow through on that desire. Lucky for me, I have a friend I tend to watch films with and I decided this should be one we watch today. Now, after having seen it, I can safely say one thing.
This is the most depressing film I've ever sat through.
Requiem for a Dream is based on a book by the same name. Released in 2000, the film centers on a group of drug addicts whose lives rapidly spiral into the abyss. It's a film without a lick of hope and showcases just how easily one can lose themselves to addiction. Because of this, Requiem lacks any sort of consistent optimism. It is, from the get-go, a downward trip into depression and it never ever lets up. By the time the film ended, I found myself more depressed than when Marley and Me ended.
One key component to what makes Requiem work is its fast-paced editing and style. It's a film that, along with its music (most likely know this film for the Clint Mansell piece Lux Aeterna), creates an extremely powerful sense of anxiety and tension. It's the same kind of feeling that the 2014 film Whiplash created and it works extraordinarily well. There's also a lot of very unnerving imagery that amplifies the atmosphere the film creates a thousandfold.
Thematically, Requiem is a film that's centered entirely on loss and self-destruction. It focuses on the losses one experiences when they find themselves addicted to drugs. We see relationships torn apart and the utter reliance on said substances overtake the love we hold to our friends, family, and significant others. This, by the end, becomes so stomach churning that I honestly couldn't tell if I was going to vomit from anxiety or cry. Though as I write this, I'm crying, so I guess that answers that.
My words can't quite do justice to exactly how I feel about Requiem for a Dream. It's a movie that makes my heart and soul feel crushed; it's an unbelievably powerful film that I would only recommend to those that can handle emotionally heavy stories well. If you're not someone who can tolerate them well—or don't handle depressing stories well—I would advise you never watch this film ever.
Final Score: 5/5
Jesus...
I don't think I would be able to handle a film that sounds so sad.
But still, damn, that's solid for a film to tackle something like that.
Holy crap. And I thought the end of Return of the King was bad enough!