Reviews of the Past: My First Aronofsky - Intense Requiem Indeed

From March 9, 2008:

As I hinted in my previous entry, this week's Netflix movie was Requiem for a Dream. I have to begin this review with qualifiers because I can already tell you that this was not my favorite film in the world. It does not pass any test I have; I could never watch this again. I've watched a few drug movies in my day, and some sit better with me than others, but this is definitely not one of those. I knew this movie was going to be hard to watch by virtue of its subject matter. I knew, with its NC-17 rating, that I was going to have to resist any squeamish impulses and see if I could appreciate the art of the film. I consider it a personal triumph whenever I muster the courage to sit down and watch a film like this.

In college, I went through a phase of watching movies with dark themes, including addiction movies. The art houses in Ann Arbor seemed to favor playing those movies, and I distinctly remember going to see movies like Trainspotting and Leaving Las Vegas in those theaters. I wasn't very fond of those either. What Requiem for a Dream has that those movies don't have, however, is a visual presence that goes beyond creative, though at times it can be gimmicky. I can see what all the fuss about Aranofsky is about - he has a fresh perspective on a concept not new to film.

In Requiem, Harry (Jared Leto) and Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) are drug dealers and best friends. Marion (Jennifer Connelly) is seeing Harry and is in on the business. They are always looking for their next big score to distribute, but they always seem to use up their own supply faster than they make the money, not to mention the fact that the streets of New York are lean and mean when it comes to new drugs to sell. In the meantime, Harry's elderly mother, Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn), who lives alone in a Brooklyn tenement, watching a sketchy infomercial repeatedly day in and day out, finds out she's eligible to be on television and decides to lose weight for her nicest red dress by going to see a questionable diet doctor who prescribes her barbituates, on which she gets hooked. The movie follows this quartet of characters as they decend into the deeper hell of addiction and the inevitable destinations to which each character's desperation for substances brings them.

I've never used drugs. Seriously, never (just say no, kids!). I've never wanted or needed to, but clearly, Aronofsky means to club the viewer over the head with his intense depiction of addiction in this film. He never strives for sympathy for any of the characters, leaving the viewer disconnected on most levels with them, but he, on the other hand, intends for the viewer to experience the same level of disorientation and habit that the four users experience. He liberally uses repetitive images, split screens, distorted pictures, to give the viewer the visual, sensational equivalent of whatever high of whatever character the film is following at the point. Sometimes, the trickery is artfully employed, distorting reality enough to make the emotional intensity palpable. Sometimes, it borders on ridiculous and distracting. Maybe if I had been high while watching the film, I would've found the flying cupcakes in Sara's bedroom amusing.

The performances of the four main actors were astounding, but particularly that of Ellen Burstyn. I can't remember just now who achieved best supporting actress that year, but Ms. Burstyn's portrayal of a lonely, desperate, dreamer of an old woman going from jittery, speed-induced high to strung out low is quite a performance to behold. I can't even imagine what kind of process she might've used to get into this character, and it's simply heartbreaking and breathtaking. Jared Leto, Marlon Wayans, Jennifer Connelly - all were amazing in these amazingly challenging roles, and I have to think that their performances were underrated at the time because this movie was clearly no dramatic walk in the park.

The score was unique. I liked the requiem thematic structure of the string quartet driving away in the background.

While I appreciate the artistic side of this film and Aronofsky's unique style of direction, I can't walk the extra mile to bring myself to like the film, and it comes right down to the fact that I can't enjoy watching movies about addiction. I'm not sure it's something I should be meant to enjoy. Oh sure, I knew what I was getting into before I popped the disc into my DVD player, and I steeled myself against all possibilities, but it's not something I can find myself saying "yippee" about when all is said and done. Besides, I feel that Trainspotting, all in all, was actually a better movie about heroin addiction and withdrawal and consequences, and that predated this film by about four years. It was grainier and more obvious about the heroin use, but somehow softened by the black and white cinematography. I also found Ewan McGregor's performance more compelling. Perhaps, I feel that if I'm going to watch a movie like this, I prefer for it to be as in-your-face as possible, and this movie, while pretty in-your-face, was also semi-distorted by the camera trickery.

I don't know if I'm making sense. What I do know is that I rate this movie a 7.5 for being between shaky and very good. I recognize my own bias here, but the fact of the matter is, the performances are what make Requiem for a Dream. Without them, it would otherwise be just another junkie movie with gimmicky visual tricks that lack the intensity this director was clearly trying to convey.

I hope Pi is an easier movie to stomach. Bring on the next one.