I was quite surprised to only see two reviews here for this, and I can only assume, that most here probably haven’t seen it. I can only say, go watch it, it is a brilliant and masterfully directed film and easily one of the best ever made(IMDB Top 250 8.5/10) the finishing reels will leave you in a state of stupor.
A shocking, brutal, grim and harrowing account of the horrors of drug addiction, told through the parallel stories of four main characters: Sarah, A lonely, widowed, overweight and TV obsessed mother, ruing her present, takes to overdosing on prescription weight loss pills to fit in her old red dress she wants to wear when she appears on her favourite television show, she expects to be on. Her son, Harry and his girlfriend, Marion, along with their friend Tyrone get involved in underground narcotic dealings to make money and start their own business, take to use of cocaine themselves. While, Marion prostitutes her body and sells her soul to get Harry the money he needs to start up so she can ultimately settle down with him and live a dignified life. Each take to drugs as a means to fulfilling their dreams, but their dreams quickly turn into nightmares as their addictions spiral out of control and destroy them in the most electrifying climax ever seen on celluloid.
However, essentially, all these characters are one super-character and their story arc is the same, which is told by cutting between them. The story is told in a manner that is almost analogous to taking a drug and the phases of use - euphoria/benefits, the side effects and the crash. These phases are characterised by seasons in this film, summer, fall and winter. We see this film through the subjective POV(point of view) of the characters and see their reality becoming distorted and darker as they slowly descend into hell and lose their stability.
The director, Darren Aronofsky, gives this film a very unique, gritty, surreal and kinetic style to reflect the inner-world and mood of the characters. He directs this movie masterfully and powerfully, with as much panache of Tarantino and the like, that has you gripped to the very end.
Some critics have criticized Aronofsky of over-stylizing and disorienting the viewers, this criticism lacks merit. The style is wholly appropriate as it gives us a perspective of how the drugs are altering their mind, emotions and moods. The fastly edited and repetitive montage sequences, which increase in number demonstrate their worsening drug addictions. The entire movie relies on visuals to tell the story, as opposed to dialogue, and that is why it is so much stronger and powerful.
Another criticism levelled at Requiem is it’s an anti-drugs and preaching movie. Again, there is no merit to this. On a purely superficial and surface level, this could be called a drugs movie and the characters are nothing more than drug junkies and hence horrible people we should not empathize with, however, if you delve deeper you reveal a much subtle and deeper universal issue - addiction to dreams and the desperate measures we take to try and realise them.
Sarah does not just want to lose weight for social acceptance, she wants to lose weight so that she can fit in her red dress, the only living embodiment of her past memories and the happiness she once had. Marion does not prostitute her body for Harry, she prostitutes her body so she can put her past behind her, and later live a dignified life. Harry, does not want to set-up a drug dealing business, he wants to become a man, so he can give the women in his life the happiness they want and absolve himself of the guilt eating him inside. Tyrone does not want to be a gangster, he wants to be somebody, because he promised his mother he would be one day. It is these expectations from life that anyone can empathize with.
The performances are brilliant from all of the actors, with a special mention to Ellen Burstyn’s(Sarah) absolutely phenomenal performance, her story is the most riveting. The cinematography is stunning, and the background score is brilliant.
It is the climax that really takes this movie to another level. It left me completely breathless and on the edge of my seat and I could feel surges of energy travelling up my body. Yes, it was that powerful!
I strongly recommend this film, but also warn you there is a lot of graphic, violent and sexual content and this movie is very disturbing.