What's your fix? (Requiem for a Dream (DVD))

Member Name: miriamb

Product:	Requiem for a Dream (DVD)
Date:	08/08/02 (735 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Dreams...

Disadvantages: ...become nightmares

Requiem for a Dream is not a film for the faint-hearted. If you are offended by graphic scenes of drug use, exploitative sex, or mental and physical breakdowns, this is not a film that you would want to watch or enjoy watching. Similarly, strong language is frequent and it certainly deserves its 18 certificate.

That said, this film is stylistically brilliant, and contains a plot that draws so many elements of modern living into sharp focus. Essentially a story of addiction, Requiem follows several story lines ranging from the ubiquitous to the extreme. It should be pointed out that the film was born from the book of the same name, written by Hubert Selby Jr.

Sara Goldfarb (played by Ellen Burstyn) is a widowed mother of one son, and lives in an apartment block in Brooklyn. Her days are spent watching the television, focussing in particular on the lifestyle guru Tappy Tippon, who endlessly promotes his Month of Fury - "30 days to turn your life around". While he preaches his 3-step programme (no red meat, no refined sugars, no orgasm), she consumes boxes of chocolate and cups of coffee. One day, mid-broadcast, she receives a call from an agency informing her that she has been selected to appear on television. This is her dream, and so begins her obsession with her moment of glory.

In her excitement, she fixates upon a photograph taken at her son's graduation. She is part of a loving family, her husband is alive, and her son has the trappings of achievement. In the picture she is wearing a red dress, and so she seeks this dress out in her wardrobe, but to her displeasure, the dress no longer fits her. What follows is a series of impossible diets, and her eventual recourse to a doctor who will provide her with pills to stop her feeling hungry - all for the red dress.

Meanwhile, Sara's son Harry (Jared Leto) has been using drugs for years, and after consideration, he and his best friend Tyrone (Mar
lon Wayans) decide to pull off a heroin deal that will set them up financially, to take them "off hard knocks and on to easy street". The plan is foolproof, as long as they don't break that age-old maxim: don't get high on your own supply. So of course they do, but fortunately not enough to get in the way of their new-found wealth. The plan is to make enough money from the first deal to set them up for an even bigger quantity, which in turn will prove even more lucrative. However, the path doesn't run smoothly and their foray into supply becomes more complicated by the rival gang warfare to control distribution, and their increasing personal dependence.

Running simultaneously is the story of Harry's girlfriend, Marion, played by Jennifer Connelly. Marion comes from a good family, and although her background is not explored to the same level, we are told that her parents have set her up in an apartment, and that she attends (or should attend) regular therapy sessions, again, funded by her parents. The implication is that the funding for the therapy is actually spent primarily on cocaine, which is her drug of choice. Marion has dreams of becoming a fashion designer, and is encouraged by Harry to pursue this, but the two are essentially very bad for each other. The two characters collide like a car crash, and as their drug use increases, both are pushed along into their respective spirals of self-destruction.

The various stories run together, and there is arguably no one main story, although the chronology is broken into summer, fall, and winter. The plot concerns itself with addiction of all forms: coffee, TV, home-shopping, diet pills, cannabis, cocaine, heroin. It would be impossible to accuse this film of glorifying drugs, as it is one of the most heart-wrenchingly and desperately painful films I have ever seen, and continues to move me each time I watch it. It raises questions concerning the reasons for a
ddiction, the scope of addiction, and even suggests that addiction is a fundamental part of 21st century life. Requiem is uncomfortable viewing in parts, not least because it challenges the viewer to address issues that could easily remain hidden. How have we reached the point where people can be so completely isolated? How can we collectively avoid the vacuum that allows it to take hold? Although the film deals primarily with the sharp end of the scale, bear in mind that this applies equally to sugar, or TV, or even the net, as much as it does to illegal drugs... so what *is* your fix?

I mentioned earlier that the film is stylistically brilliant so I really should justify that statement. You will notice throughout the film short montages that pop up at regular intervals, sharp images and sound depicting the drug consumption and effects. For example, a shot of a bag of powder cuts to the powder being lined up, then a note rolled, then the powder being sucked up, then a dilating pupil and accompanying exhalation. Cut together, these montages last approximately 5-10 seconds, and clearly indicate a) the story that is being followed and b) that consumption is taking or has just taken place. Together with the several speeded-up/down scenes that indicate various states of perception, this film in parts has the same vibrancy and tempo that you'd expect from a music video. The atmosphere of each scene is as much dependent on what is being shown, as how. The medium is indeed the message.

The soundtrack is suitably haunting for the subject matter. Beautifully performed by the Kronos Quartet, the central theme is chopped and sampled in parts to interplay with the plot, adding tension or indicating the dreamier moments with equal success. In parts, very staccato notes are sampled and looped to create a highly charged industrial sound, to match perfectly the harsher moments of the film. At times like this, it is easy to forget the classical r
oot from which the sound originated.

The film is directed by Darren Aronofsky, and was his follow up to his critically acclaimed debut Pi. Although I haven't seen Pi, I gather that the same stylised attention to detail appears here as in Requiem. Across the board, I find it difficult to find fault in Requiem for a Dream: the direction is excellent, as are the actors, as is the screenplay, as are the soundtrack and cinematography.

Ok so you've watched the film, so on to the DVD extras. In addition to the standard scene access, directors commentary and trailers, there are also various others bits and pieces that illuminate the film as whole.

Firstly, the deleted scenes. There are nine, ranging from across the film and varying in length, which, as is usually the case with deleted scenes, sometimes enhance the plot and sometimes do not. Particularly poignant is the one entitled 'We can stop using', which I'm sure you can imagine.

A mini-feature concerning Tappy Tippon life history is interesting, and expands on the prevalence of addiction in its various forms in society. Shot in pseudo-documentary style, Tappy talks us through his select life history/sales pitch, how he "turned his life around in 30 days", and the home-shopping element is evident throughout - only available by calling 1-900-976-JUICE at the special price of $39.95. This, seen in the context of the film, highlights the everyday addictions (sugar, caffeine, sex) and also points out the aspirational element that drives Sara, Harry and Tyrone, but eventually seals their fates.

The 'Making of' documentary is fascinating in showing how the effects and prosthetics were created, and provides a good background into how the film as a whole was constructed. Notable is how one 25 second scene in which Sara is shown frantically cleaning her apartment with speed-driven vigour was shot. Likewise the shorter 'Anato
my of a Scene' featurette is illuminating, but is essentially a condensed version of the 'Making of'.

Possibly the most interesting extra is 'Memories, Dreams and Addictions' - an interview with Hubert Selby Jr, conducted by Ellen Burstyn. As well as providing further information into the background of the film, and of the book on which it is based, it also provides an insight into the very personal beliefs and thoughts of its creator. Taking the form of a conversation rather than a straightforward interview, it really does shed light on the man behind it all.

Overall, this is an unforgettable and gritty film that genuinely succeeds in being thought provoking. Compulsive viewing, it takes the dreams of its central characters to a nightmarish conclusion that will make you recoil in horror. I would maintain that it's a trip well worth taking, for three reasons. Firstly, the impeccable and stylised imagery which is a joy to watch; secondly, because it forces you to consider awkward social questions; and finally because it really is a cracking (no pun intended) and well-acted story. But definitely not one for the faint hearted.


The itty bitty details:

DVD Region 2
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Dolby Digital 5.1 sound
Film running time 97 minutes
Certificate 18
Website: http://www.requiemforadream.com (unnecessarily confusing - all style no substance)

Summary: