Requiem for a Dream

Aronofsky has fashioned a chilling vision that lives up to the caustic irony of its title and gives us a nightmare that is not lightly forgotten. more

He (Aronofsky) has put together a phantasmagoria of self-destructive obsession that is so visually astounding it becomes its own saving grace. Otherwise, we might not be able to bear it. more

May be the first movie to fully capture the way that drugs dislocate us from ourselves. more

No one interested in the power and magic of movies should miss it.

Burstyn is astonishing, forsaking all vanity to make silly biddy Sara a fully dimensioned human being. more

A fluent, intelligent piece of work whose sex and violence are anything but gratuitous, and exactly the kind of highly personal, no-holds-barred vision of life on the ragged edge that independents always aspire to but rarely have the goods to achieve. more

A work of art whose beauty has the eternal power of redemption. more

Be warned: it's a downer, and a knockout. more

Aronofsky brings a new urgency to the drug movie by trying to reproduce, through his subjective camera, how his characters feel, or want to feel, or fear to feel. more

Easily the most searing movie-going experience of the year. more

This remarkably effective film is a dark, sad piece and not for the faint of heart. The editing of the film is visually stunning and well-done. The entire cast is perfect in portraying how four content people can lose their lives to drugs in pursuit of their dream. The overall effect of the film is nothing short of nightmarishly haunting. A wholly remarkable film. more

This film detailing the downward spiral into the abyss that is drug addiction is brutal, horrifying and sad, and easily belongs on my "Most Disturbing Films Ever" list. If you're not crying -- or in total shock -- by the end of this film, you have no soul. Ellen Burstyn gives a performance for the ages with her lonely widow Sara Goldfarb, addicted to diet pills to the point of psychosis, under the misguided attempt to lose weight and "get into the red dress" for her TV game show appearance. Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly (in a surprisingly graphic role) and Marlon Wayans appear -- and put... more

The greatest ant-drug message ever created. No one can possibly see this and still be in the mood for heroine, diet pills, etc. In that respect, it's the greatest movie about the subject matter because it really does change or re-enforce your position. It also happens to be one of the most flawlessly shot movies of all time. The images are just beautiful in every way. Each frame is treated with love and care to produce the best look. Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly are incredible in their roles and really symbolize the true tragedy within the movie's narrative. To go from being so happy... more

There have been a slew of films centering on the depressive, the addictive, and the unintelligible, but very few have captured all three so thoroughly, so convincingly. Inside I was repulsed, sickened, and made to feel a bit dizzy by the images that were ripped from a television screen and thrust into reality, meshing quite nicely. It was at first the regular film, tantamount to suffering, indignity, and loathing of one's soul, but then ventured into more of a mirror effect towards society that makes one feel every inch the characters, their woes, their loss of self. Beautiful, in a filthy... more

Capitalism has lead to consumerism and consumerism has lead to addiction. We are now all drug addicts and greed is the drug and we must have it at any cost. Hard hitting social commentary from Aronofsky who goes from strength to strength. more