Scary, Sad, Superb

            Hauntingly real, and depressing, Requiem for a Dream is a moving and terrifying depiction of what happens to drug addicts when their addictions control them.  The entire film was so vivid and disturbing that it gives the audience chills. In dissecting the film thoroughly, there are three reasons why the film was so… captivating. The experimental, but successful camera angles were key in the film. Also, the phenomenal acting played a pivotal role in heightening the film’s realistic effect. Lastly, the motif of the film were important in focusing on the issues.

            At first, the camera angles seemed interesting, but impractical. However, as the film progressed, the purpose of the angles and shots became apparent. They were primarily used to show the character’s perspective in the situation. At the beginning, it seemed like an intriguing, but unnecessary way to show perspective. However, as the characters slowly lose their hold on reality and the addictive drugs begin to take over, the use of the unique perspective shots became clear. They were used to emphasize the difference in perspective between an addict and a regular person. This amplifies the terror the audience feels as the film unfolds.

            The acting was convincing, but dreadful. Their acting was so good that the scenes conveyed by the film were depressing and terrible. Ellen Burstyn was perfect in portraying an old lady whose meaning of life has been reduced to just television. Everything she does is for television. She starts a ridiculous diet, and consumes numerous pills to able to appear “good” on television. Her agonizing monologues, her screams, and the way she shrinks away from the refrigerator was excellent. The rest of the cast gave convincing and powerful performances to help the overall quality of the film.

            Lastly, the motif put an interesting dynamic in the film. The motif was that a symbol of addiction was also used to warn the addicts against it. However, in all cases, they were ignored. The pink infection wound on Harry Goldfarb’s arm was used to caution Harry against drugs, but he eventually injects more drugs into the wound. Also the television has carefully positioned phrases to warn Mrs. Goldfarb to stop her addiction. Instead, she keeps on taking pills. The motif brings to light an important aspect of the addiction. Certain things still warn the addicts of the potential risks, but it is always ignored. This emphasizes an important and horrifying fact: once you start you can never stop.

            There are some flaws in the film such as interlacing scenes that were supposed to be light hearted and mellow with depressing leitmotif and the quick and rapid shots to portray certain actions were irrelevant. The shots were poorly used because it alienates more audiences away because it is seen as “bad radical.” This means a radical concept that does not significantly adds to the quality of the movie. Thus, it harms it. However, these small errors were covered up by the intensity of the film. It was good, but I will only recommend it to a particular audience.