I remember the first time I saw "Sid & Nancy" (which was also my first time seeing an actor named Gary Oldman... he was incredible as "Sid Vicious"), I watched it thinking that anybody who saw this movie must be nuts to wanna do heroin. It was a movie that made you see just how bad heroin is, to the point where you felt sick watching these people inject it into their veins. That's the same feeling I got watching "Requiem for a Dream." It makes you disgusted with drugs, and there's no way in hell I'd ever wanna do it.
Actually, I've never done drugs once. No cocaine, no acid, no ecstasy, no mushrooms, no pot even. Sometimes, it feels like I'm missing out on something, especially when people who HAVE done drugs tell me that I should give it a try, or that I would love it, or even when they tell me that they like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," a movie I hated (I was told that I didn't like it because I didn't have the frame of reference). I don't wanna get on a soapbox about saying no to drugs, because I'd probably be wrong to do so. I know plenty of people who have done or do drugs, but they do it in moderation. And realistically, some drugs, like pot, shouldn't be part of the equation. Pot is nothing. Cigarettes and alcohol are probably worse anyway. I mean, I won't ever smoke pot, but it's not gonna kill anyone. Not directly, at least. But when you deal with a chemical, like heroin, crack, LSD, ecstasy, or any of that, you're playing with fire. I think pot should probably be legalized, but that other stuff, hell no.
But enough about all that.
"Requiem for a Dream" will haunt you. It will disturb you. By the end of the movie, you'll feel as though you just went on a horrific roller coaster... but not the kind that would have you run back to the end of the line so that you could take the ride again. It's a very fascinating, absorbing movie, but it's painful to watch. In many ways, it's like the movie "Kids." If you've never seen "Kids," you don't know what I'm talking about, but if you HAVE seen it, then oh yeah, you know what I mean.
This movie has a great cast, led by Jared Leto. Some of you may remember him from years ago as the guy Claire Danes wanted in the excellent TV show, "My So-Called Life." More recently, he was the guy who got the crap beaten out of him by Edward Norton in "Fight Club." In "Requiem for a Dream," he's great. And he nailed the New York accent. His girlfriend is played by the sexy, beautiful, and talented Jennifer Connelly. She's very good, and you really feel for her at times. And my God, she's so beautiful. I said that already, right? Marlon Wayans is in the movie, and quite honestly, I was very skeptical about him initially. He's got this hyper, annoying way of acting that I don't like. But in this role, he's completely different. I was completely surprised by his performance. He's brilliant in this movie. Finally, there's Ellen Burstyn. Remember Linda Blair's mom in "The Exorcist"? Well, this is her. She's incredible, and an Oscar nomination is virtually guaranteed. She deserves it, because her performance is awesome. And she nails the New York accent, too.
"Requiem for a Dream" was directed by Darren Aronofsky, the guy who directed "Pi." Like "Pi," he does incredible things with the camera. He doesn't do it just for the heck of it, or because he thinks it'll look like a cool shot, he does it because he wants you to get inside the head of his characters, and it's very effective. He's a very talented director, and last I heard, he may be directing the new "Batman" movie, which is called "Batman: Year One." It's based on the comic book by Frank Miller. Anyone who read it knows that it's a very dark, gritty story. I'd love to see a faithful adaptation, but I don't know if Warner Bros. would allow it. A faithful adaptation would more than likely teeter on being an R-rated movie, and, of course, they'd want something rated PG or PG-13. Anyway, Aronofsky wrote the script with Hubert Selby Jr., the guy who wrote the book that the movie is based on.
This is NOT
an easy movie to watch, and I'm sure that some people won't like it. I liked
it, but there were a lotta slow parts, but it's not the slow parts that
are gonna bother people. This movie was originally rated NC-17, but rather
than deal with that rating, Artisan decided to just release the movie unrated,
and then ask theaters to not allow anyone under the age of 17 to watch it.
There's a reason for that, but not the reasons you may think. Still, if
you can take it, I think that you'll be glad that you saw this movie. Even
if it makes you feel a little sick afterwards.
Scale of 1-10: 8