Redefines Cinematic perfection! (Requiem for a Dream (DVD))

Member Name: Welshlad

Product:	Requiem for a Dream (DVD)
Date:	26/06/01 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simply Awesome movie, I cannot praise it enough, COMPELLING!

Disadvantages: no chance!

The film


Darren Aronofsky came onto the film scene two years ago with Pi, a high-end Lynchian opus on mathematical repetition and the deconstruction of the human mind. That film used visual squibs to create a whole different world for the mentally anguished and it turned out to be one of the finest films of the year.

With his second film, Requiem for a Dream, Aronofsky does to the sophomore slump what Quentin Tarantino did with the release of Pulp Fiction -- blowing it out of the water. Not only is Requiem for a Dream a great film, it is better than Pi and even better than any other film this year.

Where Pi was deranged look at madness, Requiem does everything in a realistic sense. Every step is one meant to look like a believable occurrence of the characters that it has to work with. While not everyone may know what it is like to be a junkie awaiting the next hit, there is no doubt in anyone's mind that Aronofsky is presenting it in as close a form as celluloid can give. It never pulls back when things seem to harsh and never fails to leave the viewer gasping for air -- it is a basket of visual scenery meant to scare people straight and has no intention of looking at the niceties of a life gone sour.

The film's four protagonists each have an addiction, and each one finds solace in these addictions. But what they don't know is how deep they are, and how far down they can go. Tyrone (Wayans) and Harry (Leto) each yearn for drugs in their desolate lives, having nothing else to turn to. Harry's girlfriend Marion (Connelly) becomes an addict by association and soon wants it more than the other two. When it becomes nearly impossible to get heroin on the streets, she's the one that makes Harry go out and fight to find it. His addiction to her has brought him no choice but to go looking for it, even if it means going as far out of Breighton Beach as he and Tyrone can get.

But everything is not
always so bad for these three. In hopes of bringing Marion her dream of a clothing store, Harry and Tyrone begin selling on the streets. If they can do a fine enough job, they will be able to get the big chunk to sell. The only catch is that they have to keep from turning to that money for more personal drugs.

But they only make three of the four stories, admittedly the lesser three. The other major character is Harry's mother Sara (Burstyn), who suffers the life of a lonely widow secluded in her apartment. We first meet her as Harry steals her television to sell for some drug money, but soon we find that she is much more than a long suffering mother of a junkie. For she is the ultimate addict, a glutton of the highest sense. She constantly sits in her room watching her favourite infomercial/game show and eats. When she learns that she will appear on this show, she develops an obsession to clean herself up, leading to an attempt to lose weight through pills.

Burstyn gives a striking performance, arguably the finest of her incredible career. Sara Goldfarb is harrowing to watch thanks to a beautiful subtlety from Burstyn. When Sara's addiction to the diet pills gets out of hand, it is the timing of Burstyn that keeps it from turning into a farce. In the hands of someone like Anne Bancroft, Sara would have been over the top and cloying, Burstyn makes her striking and believable. Many will think of their own mothers as they sit watching her.

Each of the four actors hold their own, especially the two females. As Burstyn plays things straight, Jennifer Connelly creates her character as a fine human being lost in her own world. She is playful, coy, and deceptive -- she could be a self-destructive time bomb waiting to take out herself and everyone around her. I noted Connelly to myself a couple years ago with Dark City, but I never would have expected such a fine performance from her here. It takes much to hold your own b
eside Ellen Burstyn, and Connelly seamlessly does it.

Two real surprises in the cast here with Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans proving that there's much more to them as actors than I would have ever given them credit. I remember stating that the only good thing about Leto appearing in The Thin Red Line is that he is dead within thirty seconds -- and that's one of the kinder things I have said about him. With the exception of Girl, Interrupted, I have liked every film from Leto since 1998's The Thin Red Line, but have always disliked him in each turn. Black and White and Fight Club both used him as an interchangeable character with no importance and American Psycho pitted him as the worthless scum of the planet. Here he is likable and thought provoking. Did he go to acting school recently or something, because I cannot believe this is the same guy from Urban Legend.

And Marlon Wayans? Well, I really do consider myself to be one of the more critical people on that Wayans brother, even panning him in the otherwise enjoyable Scary Movie. His hijinx are never funny and I really don't think he knows how desperate for laughs he seems. Taking this completely dramatic role is genius on his part because he can pull it off. There is no scene in which he can tarnish the film with a pratfall, in fact I cannot think of any moment in which he is left open to joke. It is refreshing to see such a fine dramatic performance from him, but I am also filled with trepidation that he will not continue on this path.

The camera work on this film is incredible. Aronofsky and his cinematographer-editor team of Matthew Libatique and Jay Rabinowitz (both of whom worked on Pi) pull no stops. Every scene is an incredible piece of art. You could pause the screen, frame it, put it on your wall, and have a breathtaking piece of professional photography. Many directors have attempted this subject matter before, using some of the same devices (I was
especially reminded of Jesus' Son by the split screen early in the film and the delusional game show appearance that is also found in Trainspotting), but Aronofsky et al. do it better than ever before.

The film is based on a novel by Herbert Selby, Jr., who adapted it with Aronofsky. The lyrical prose of the novel comes across in the film, which causes the words to come alive. I recently read Jeffrey Eugendes' The Virgin Suicides after seeing the Sofia Coppola adaptation and was surprised at how close the two pieces were in mood. Aronofsky's use of the story is just as hard on the senses as Selby's novel and even more terrifying.

There is no doubt in my mind that this film could serve as a scared straight viewing for the youth of America. Like Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, I believe that incoming high school students should be sent to watch this film. Though it is very heavy in gruesome visuals, sexual on goings, and drug use, it never does it in a glorified way once it gets on its course to destruction. I cannot see the today's youths see drugs as such a simple choice after viewing the outcome that can be found in drug use. The film's initial NC-17 rating (Artisan is releasing the film unrated) is merited in the actions found inside the film, but the message is one that should not be censored by a rating.

I was even a little jarred by this film's depiction of drug gone awry. I had a bit of cold when I saw the film and had been on a stiff schedule of taking Sudafed for my ailment. When the film ended it was time for the next dosage. Needless to say, I thought twice before I swallowed the next pill.


The DVD

Out now on R1 DVD, this, like the film is simply awesome. Presented in its original 1.85:12 aspect ratio, it looks gorgeous, and shows off the cinematography beautifully. The settings are luscious, the transfer is perfection, this film just looks the part, and
the DVD doesn't hold it back in the slightest.
Audio comes in a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack that again does justice for this cinematic masterpiece. Subtle and hard hitting at all the right times, this gives a fantastic blend of audio, and is used in a way that suits the film to perfection.
We get extras such as:

-> Directors Commentary (Not had a chance to listen to this yet, but I will do soon - should be VERY interesting)
-> Directory of Photography Commentary (as above)
-> Making of Documentary
-> Deleted Scenes (with or without commentary)
-> Memories, Dreams and Addictions
-> The Anatomy of a Scene
-> Trailers
-> TV Spots
-> Cast & crew Information
-> Production notes
-> And More!

As the above shows, the superb DVD is in keeping with the film, and is faultless in every respect.


Summary

To summarise this film and DVD is VERY tough. The film is just unbelievable, and incredibly hard to fault. It's so good, I would as far to say it is one of the best films I have seen in the past few years and cannot recommend this enough. The DVD is again top notch, and thoroughly recommended, do yourself a favour and get this now!

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