Requiem For A Dream Reviews

A Cinematic Addiction

Harrowing, brutal and gut wrenching, 'Requiem' is one film that reverses, spins and spits out the normally passive senses and emotions that one receives with a film watching. The audience is jerked into sitting up straight with the visceral editing, the subtle and jarring score and haunted performances of the cast. Discursive, intrusive, and abrasive, a truely individual and affecting piece of cinema.

Requiem for a mush heed

This film made me want to take an overdose. it was brilliant, I hated it.

Pyschological Warning!

This is my favourite film of all time. A truly excellent film should touch you, make a difference to your day, and have a long lasting effect on you. The incredible impact of Requiem does not lessen with each viewing, each and every time it is an emotional rollercoaster, with SO many 'heart in your mouth' moments! You'll smile with contentment, jump with fear, cry in dismay, and go pure crazy with shock! I've never shown this film to anyone who did not sit there in disbelief and amazement after it's intensely traumatic ending.

When I first viewed it, the guy behind the counter said, 'Are You Sure? This film will mess you up, I guarantee it!', and I protested, saying 'No film is THAT messed up!'

This one is. I promise you.

The cinematography is incredible; adapted from a near perfect book by Hubert Selby Jr. (which I highly recommend), the hugely entertaining and captivating story is perfectly translated to screen by Aronovsky et al.

The film lulls you into a false sense of security, makes you think everything is going to be ok. You enjoy the interesting hip-hop montage camera shots, and have a few giggles. Then it slowly but surely smacks you around the face with an iron bar, until you are black, blue and maybe even a nice sickly green. It's a build up of emotional, visual and audio assaults on the viewer, and you cannot get away from it.

Not that you'll want to.

Watch this film now! But be warned.

21st century anti-drugs movie

If you want to warn anyone about the dangers of hard drugs show them this film! It is one of the most intense films I have ever seen, I can't say I enjoyed it but it certainly was mightily impressive watching it build to a crescendo of pain and suffering. A modern day classic.

Really dark, really addictive...

This is not a film about drugs, but about addiction. In people's quest for happiness the effect addiction can have on your life and those around you.

This is the most depressing film I have ever seen; I recommend you watch another more light hearted film afterwards, or make sure it's a nice sunny day outside! Few films leave you speechless at the end, truly change the way you feel, even for a moment. And it sticks with you. This doesn’t sound like much of a recommendation. But it is.

Watch this movie and be moved.

Incredible - a must see!

This is one of the most beautifully shot films I have seen. A combination of superb cinematography and a very sad but completely plausible story.

Don't watch this is you're easily disturbed though - but you'll be missing one of the most memorable films out there.

Dated & Disappointing

We were really looking forward to this film, but alas it didn't deliver what it promised.

The actors are pretty, some performances are good, but the message about addiction is an old one. We'd even go so far to suggest that it was difficult to empathise with some of the characters who for the main (exception being Mrs Goldfarb) had rather glamorous drug addicted existences.

The repetitive camera work though novel at first grates after the twentieth time! Too stylish to capture the real horror of real addiction.

Sorry but we'd rent something else!

Requiem For A Dream provides a tragic insight into the death of the dreams of four individuals. Ellen Burstyn plays a widow, Mrs Goldfarb, who dotes on her son, Harry (Jared Leto), a young man in love with his girlfriend, Marion (Jennifer Connelly). Mrs Goldfarb passes her time watching TV and one day she is invited to become a contestant on one of her favourite shows. She embarks on losing weight, so she may fit into a treasured red dress, one that reminds her of the happiness she felt when Harry was at high school and her husband was still alive. Meanwhile, Harry and Marion, together with their friend, Tyrone, become increasingly involved in a sensation-seeking drug sub-culture. As Harry and Marion's plans for future happiness begin to disintegrate, so to does Mrs Goldfarb's attempt at returning to happiness, as she resorts to taking amphetamines to lose weight.

Whilst the plot centres around drugs, and disturbingly highlights the disastrous effects of drug addiction, it is much more sophisticated and elegant than the now tired anti-drug flick. The film tells many stories including lost innocence, the effects on the individual of a lack of community, and provides explanation for the potentially self-destructive behaviours some use to attain their dreams.

Shot against the backdrop of the dying beauty of Brooklyn's Brighton Beach and in the shadow of a long-closed amusement park, the cinematography and editing are stunning. It contains some of the most beautiful shots ever seen on screen. The soundtrack is amazing. The acting is brilliant. If the subject matter of this film were not so grim it would be one the best-looking movies ever made.

This excellent film is let down by a self-indulgent, uber-Indie documentary and other disappointing DVD features. However, this should not put anyone off from watching the DVD.

If you are not chilled by the In-Yer-Face morality of this movie, you will be shaken by its stark, yet exquisite, aesthetic.

[Highly rated reviewer]

One of the most harrowing films I have ever seen, with some truely awesome performances.

Brutal and brilliant

This film gets better and better with every watch - career best performances from all involved, and film-making of the highest order. I challenge anyone not to be affected by the power of the last 15 minutes. This is unmitigatingly brutal and brilliant.