I found a review from the site,
rottentomatoes, on the movie Requiem for a Dream. I watched this movie two nights ago and I really enjoyed it. The story and events that happen throughout the film are very disturbing, but the way the movie is filmed makes the movie terrific. The review from Jeffrey Anderson reflects my opinion of the film. I agree with this review for many reasons. At the very beginning of it he compares Requiem for a Dream with Meet the Parents and how boring Meet the Parents is due to how it's filmed and the plot line. Requiem for a Dream takes you by surprise many times and can make you very uncomfortable by the way the drugs are used, the way they act when they don't get their drugs, what they do to get their drugs and also how the actors act when they are on the drugs. The way Requiem for a Dream is filmed makes you feel like you're so much closer to the actors and shows you how the drugs are made and how the drugs affect your body by using extreme close-ups. Aronofsky didn't make Requiem for a Dream like other drug movies. “Aronofsky doesn't bother with long, loving close-ups of heroin injections (as in Pulp Fiction) or snorting of coke. Instead, he gives us a jackhammer montage to show such things (also used in Pi when the mathematician pops his pain pills). He incorporates a few other cinematic inventions, some borrowed from the 60's, such as split-screens and fish-eye lenses, and others invented by himself, like his trademark body-cam, in which the actor's face is immobile in the middle of the frame and the picture around them jumps and twitches”. He filmed this drug movie more differently than other drug movies have been filmed so that the viewer gets a better understanding of the actors by being so much closer to them. I also agree with the review when he explains how the movie is more different and interesting for using actors who aren't very well known. “Even better, Aronofsky proves that he isn't one of those cold-hearted filmmakers looking for extreme style and has no use for actors. He draws excellent performances out of an unlikely cast.” Jeffrey Anderson also talks how the film gave him night sweats and makes you sick, and throughout the whole film I was uptight and had to sit up right throughout the whole film. The reviewer notes, “Most other drug movies are filmed in a straightforward style, sometimes gritty and street-tough (Drugstore Cowboy), sometimes in spinning colors (Less Than Zero). The recent Jesus' Son is a bland example of a drug movie. Requiem for a Dream leaves them all behind. It tosses razor blades and sour milk into the filmmaking mix. It gives you an emotional jump start that makes it the most intense movie I've ever seen.” This definitely was one of the most intense movies I’ve ever seen. After the movie was over I felt uneasy, uncomfortable and kind of sick to my stomach. I felt bad the ending was so terrible. I thought for sure at the end that all the characters would end up being happy and getting themselves together but everyone just fell apart. That’s another reason how Aronofsky is different actors is because he likes to make the viewers on the edge. In all, I really enjoyed the film because it was very different from other movies I’ve seen recently even though it was very grotesque.
