Requiem for a Dream (UK)

If you thought the sight of Jennifer Connelly getting it on naked with a double-headed dildo could never be repellent, then let me introduce you to a whole new experience...

And if the cinema reviews of "Requiem for a Dream" were agreed on two things, they were that it was stymied from the beginning by its outdated and unsubtle source material, and that the last twenty minutes are hard to watch and impossible to enjoy.

Yet what recommends the film is the fact that despite the stomach-churning closing sequences, it is not only compelling but impossible to tear yourself away from (and, incidentally, never as painful and unsettling as his debut “Π”), and that despite its apparently two-dimensional moralising, it remains with you longer afterward than any film since perhaps "Magnolia."

It is certainly a measure of Aronofsky`s high-minded approach that although he has cinema`s sexiest couple at his disposal in Connelly and Jared Leto, he never trades on their looks and the only nudity is non-sexual. Indeed one of his greatest achievements in the film is making the golden couple appear increasingly grotesque as their fall progresses. Connelly in particular echoes Roald Dahl’s Mrs. Twit, whose ugly thoughts over time, you may recall, began to show on her face until she became so ugly you could hardly bear to look at her. But “The Twits” never did brave that dildo sequence…

All the lead performances are flawless, and Ellen Burstyn was rightly nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Leto’s mother. When a director and actor come together so well you get infinitely memorable moments like Burstyn’s beaky, wrinkled face peering with confusion around the room at the edge of a fish-eye lens. Horrible. What’s most astonishing on viewing the film again, though, is that “Requiem for a Dream” clearly marks out Aronofsky as the natural successor to Stanley Kubrick (and isn’t it nice that we had only to wait two years?), with his fastidious attention to frame composition, his delight in colour, his careful use of a brilliant score, and of course, most tellingly, the sense of something missing in the heart region…

This brings us back to what the some didn’t like about it, and with these concerns taken into account, the film itself probably only deserves eight out of ten. I’m giving this package ten though, as the DVD gives it a whole new dimension (though not the one the critics were looking for). The extras are simply the best I have ever seen on a single disc set, and, crucially, now you can program your DVD player to run the chapters backwards, and give the lovely Jennifer and Jared the happy ending they deserve.

Having thought Pi was a brilliant film, I bought this and it`s a brutal yet brilliant film.

The acting throughout is superb with some great performances and Aronosky`s style means that it all goes by at quite a frenetic pace. The last 20mins or so are hard to watch but, as already mentioned, you can`t keep your eyes off the screen.

The picture is good, and the sound does it`s job. The features are really good, and the Behind The Scenes featurette gives you more "behind the scenes" than most of the tripe that the major studios put on their discs.

A good yet disturbing film.

No! Make it stop! The dead baby in Trainspotting was enough to put me off skag for life, I can do without this. Brilliant performances, but far too depressing for most tastes, including mine.

Whoah.

Content:- I would have to say that this film was truly amazing in many ways, but also that it is really not a `nice` film, but one of those films that actually has an `impact` on you. I mean that in some ways you might not want to watch this film......but it is definately worth it. The last 20 minutes were absolutely incredible...horrible....brilliant....awful....urrgghh. It was worth the struggle to sit through this film simply because it will teach you something about yourself afterwards. I can honestly say that within the first 5 minutes of this film, I was convinced that it would probably make me want to cry - there was just something so beautiful about it all......but that`s not really why it made me want to cry at the end. If I was going to cry because of any film then I think it would be this one, but I wont say why, because that would spoil it. Anyway, the direction was fantastic (great if you have seen Pi beforehand), the acting couldn`t be better, the pace was incredible. The whole experience of watching this film from start to finish was just a very refreshing......if depressing.....experience. This film really really really worked well on me....

Video:- Very good colourful, clean and crisp transfer. Yep. Lots of nice things to look at, and plenty detail.

Audio:- A VERY impressive soundtrack, with plenty of effects, and some very clever ones at that (Flying doughnuts?). The music was also very well used, and very well presented. An excellent soundtrack.

Features:- A similarly good selection to that which is on the Pi disc. Plenty to pick from and it is all good stuff.

Overall:- This film is definately worth watching, but you may feel incredibly depressed afterwards. This is an amazingly powerful film. The last 20 minutes....well....you would have to watch it to understand.........

Requiem for a Dream is one of those films few people have heard of and so tends to go unoticed. This is a real shame as it is one of the best films made over the last few years.

Afronofsky uses some very powerful images and the portrayal of addiction and desperation of the 4 main characters seems very real. Its a film that is both hard to watch and utterly compelling at the same time.

All the acting performances are outstanding, but it is Ellen Burstyn who really shines as she puts in one of the best performances I have seen in a long time (right up there with Daniel Day-Lewis`s performance in Gangs of New York). The fact that she was pipped for the Oscar by Julia Roberts was unbelievable, and proves my point that this film seems to be overlooked, probably due to its powerful content.

The DVD matches the main feature in its quality. The menus are excellently done and the additional footage provides a great insight into the film. You get a real sense that all the people involved in the film, from the director to the actors, care greatly about the material they are working with. The interview/discussion between Burstyn and the novel`s author, Selby Jnr, is also an excellent touch.

If you like thought-provoking films with strong images and a strong message, you can`t go wrong with this.