Requiem for a Dream

Darren Aronofsky's critically acclaimed 'Requiem for a Dream' is a story about addiction and its effect on different people. The film follows four characters all with addictions and portrays the deterioration of the human body in a shockingly realistic manner. Jared Leto is excellent as the lead character, Harry Goldfarb, and seems to portray his character's desperation with ease. His addiction to heroin is brutal and is slowly taking over his life, we immediately sympathize with his mother as he continues to steal from her to pay for his habits. Ellen Burstyn is excellent in her role as the mother, her own addiction to speed via diet pills leads to her being taken to a mental hospital. Aronofsky has perfectly captured her slow decline and throughout the film we can see  her lose her mind which is excellent cinema. Although I feel she is excellent in her role, I did get annoyed by her voice which became more and more whiny as the film went on. She is also good in the Exorcist as the mother, and looks a bit like nurse Ratchet in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'.

The editing in this film is brilliant especially the scenes which depict heroin use, the fast paced cuts display the serenity and despair from injecting heroin. Below is a video which shows the quick paced editing, I really liked how seamless the cuts are and it helps the audience understand the nature of addiction.The scenes with Mrs Goldfarb also shows good editing as the director attempts to show how strung out she is. The famous song used is very effective, it is desperate and dramatic, and perfectly fitting to addiction and the relating struggles.

Other actors in the film are Marlon Wayans who plays Harry's friend and 'business' partner, he fits his role well and is perhaps his best performance. Jennifer Connelly is brilliant in her role as Harry's girlfriend, we see her character at some real low points especially the uncomfortable sex scene in which she is surrounded by a variety of men. The audience really sympathizes with her as she performs different acts to earn money to pay for her habit. In his first starring performance Jared Leto really stands out, his previous appearances in American Psycho and Fight Club are good but his portrayal of Harry Goldfarb shows his ability as an actor. Should definitely stick to acting over singing, 30 Seconds to Mars are useless.

This film is definitely in my top 10 favourite films. The editing is seamless and mixed with the cinematography and individual performances results in a great movie. Darren Aronofsky has made several good films including the Wrestler and Black Swan, both dark films with interesting plots.