Holy Cow. Seriously.
I mean, there’s lot’s of things that can be said about this movie… but first you’ve got to pick your jaw up off the floor and start blinking again. My roommate and I, after careful scientificly-based consideration, have come up with the correct genre to place this movie in: “Fucked Up”. Yes. “Fucked Up” is a little-known subcategory of the genre “Drama”. “Drama” alone would absolutely not do this movie justice.
I won’t make you watch this movie. I think it’s a dang good movie, but it’s probably not everyone’s cup of tea. I mean, if “Fucked Up” is not a big enough clue for you, I can’t really vouch for your reading comprehension. I mean, Saw was probably in this category too, but I’m less certain about putting it there than I am Requiem for a Dream.
The movie starts in the Summer, introducing the main character and his mother. He goes on to steal his mother’s TV and take it down to the pawn shop with his buddy. (Which is hinted to being a weekly ritual as she goes to the pawn shop to buy it back.) Other than that, life is generally good. They’ve got their drug money, and our main character’s got time to spend with his girlfriend.
Then something happens… they decide that if they could get a hold of some of the good stuff, they could cut it up and start dealing. It could be their big break, right? So they get to work, trying to build a better life by selling drugs. Meanwhile his mother’s at home fantasizing about he chance at being on TV and trying to ignore the diet she’s on to lose weight for it.
Then stuff goes downhill. Everyone’s trying to stay on top of things while the drugs (his mother’s taking diet pills that are equivalent to Speed) slowly claw away at their lives. The movie transitions these periods with different seasons, this next season being fall, where the good of summer is flowing away. This movie wouldn’t be very good if it didn’t do these scenes so remarkably well, with the transitions between the seasons and scenes.
Of course, winter comes. His mother’s become addicted to the diet pills and is goes crazy, he and his friend get caught on their way to pick up drugs from Florida. His girlfriend begins whoring herself out to get a fix. Everyone’s life is, appropriately, “Fucked Up”. And that’s the end.
Of course, reflecting on this, the remarkable beauty of the film is that we know spring is just around the corner, though it may be distant. There’s hope that maybe, someday, everyone’s life will be better… or maybe not. It’s just such a mind job… that’s Requiem For a Dream. 4.7¹ out of 900¼ (5¹).
Comments are closed.