Rating: 
Summary: ONE WORD - AMAZING!
Review: If you see one movie that came out in 2000 this is the movie to see. Forget happiness, this is the most depressing movie ever. With that said, I still feel as if I am a better person for having seen this. I've told every single one of my friends to see this movie and not one person has ever been touched by the movie. The book and soundtrack are amazing as well. The visual techniques, specifically the sequences where they do the heroin/coke/smoke the pot are out of this world. They show the same repetitive sequence throughout the movie, showing the depths of addiction. What unnerved me the most was the tragic descent of ellyn burstyn and her addiction to diet pills. The shock treatment at the end and how horrible she looked just left my stomach in a knot. Every actor/actress in this movie gives a career defining performance, even jennifer connoly (of Labyrinth fame). This movie is memorizing. This and crouching tiger hidden dragon were hands down some of the best, most original movies to come out in the last 10 years, more so than the matrix, more so than fight club, they have redefined cinema. Darren Aronofsky has a very bright future ahead of him. Please people, see this movie, it is undoubedtly the most powerful movie you will have ever seen in your lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: a highly original masterpiece.
Review: This film was so well done....my only problem with it was the music, which I found a little trite and cliche'd. Kronos was picked for some marketing thing I suppose..they could do much better work, and this film deserves a better score. Other than that....great...see the other reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actress.....
Review: There aren't enough awards to do justice to this movie. And yet, I really can't see myself buying the DVD or even renting it. One trip through this nightmare was more than enough. This movie is utterly depressing. Forget happiness - this movie doesn't give a single one of its protagonists even a glimmer of a reflection of a sliver of hope. You would think that would be obvious about halfway through it, but it's so well done that you keep on hoping something good will happen to at least one of the heroes. But it just gets worse and worse. The acting is superb all around, especially Ellen Burstyn's parts. And the drug sequences are amazing. Instead of trying to show what the characters are seeing, a la Trainspotting and Fear and Loathing (both great movies, no slight intended...), in Requiem we see more of a "thematic" drug influence. The trips are coolly shot and exhilarating, but they're over quickly and after the second time we start to see how monotonous they are. And of course, each time it's a little further down the spiral. Like I said, I couldn't watch this again. But it is, IMHO, the best movie made in at least two years.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Nightmare
Review: Adapted from the novel by Hubert Selby Jr. (who co-wrote the screenplay), Darren Aronofsky's "Requiem for a Dream" is a descent into utter despair, a journey through the unfulfilled dreams of four characters whose lives are driven by drugs. It is a haunting, heartbreaking look at the dark side of addictions and is my personal pick for the best film of 2000. The story centers around Harry (Jared Leto), his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly), his friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans), and his mother Sara (Ellen Burstyn), all of whose lives are driven by addictions: Harry and Tyrone are junkies, Marion is a coke addict, and Sara, persuaded to loose weight for a possible TV appearance, is hooked on diet pills. The film begins by showing each of these characters' dreams nearing fulfillment. Just when it seems that happiness is attainable, all of the characters' lives spiral out of control until they hit rock bottom. All of the performances are stellar, particularly Wayans and Burstyn. Wayans took me completely by suprise showing that he can actually act and act well. Yet it is Burstyn who stands miles above the rest. Her portrayal of the lonely, pathetic yet well-meaning Sara is incredible. It was Sara whom I felt most sorry for of this entire tragic quartet. Burstyn deserves an award for this role (and that is fact, not opinion). Aronofsky's direction makes this film a visceral, kinetic experience. His use of split-screens, fast cuts, and the infamous snorri-cam give this film an intense, addictive feel. The film's 20-minute-montage-from-hell finale is a blistering, disturbing combination of Aronofsky's quick paced flash coupled with the impeccably agonizing performances by the cast. All of this is punctuated by the Clint Mansell score performed by The Kronos Quartet, music which is fittingly somber and dirge-like. "Requiem for a Dream" is powerful cinema that can truly be called a work of art, a haunting nightmare that can rightfully be called beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful, amazing, emotionally moving....
Review: There are so many words to describe this movie, but I think the most powerful movie I have ever seen in my life so far pretty much sums up wha I think about this movie. It took me three attempts to see this movie while it was in the theater (you see I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma and there isn't much of an independent movie scene here, so all the independent movies go to one certain theater and are only there for about 2 or 3 weeks). I'm a big fan of Darren Aronofsky's "Pi" and II had previously read about Requiem in IFP and one of my friend's had mentioned it to me a couple of times, so I read some reviews about it and the reviews were a little bit mixed up, because some critics liked it and some didn't so I decided that I would have to see for my self. When I finally got a chance to see it (the first time they owuldn't sell me tickets, the second time I had to run out of the theater before the security guards got to me, and then the third time I actually got to see it) So when I actually did see it I was so amazed. It scared the crap out of me, because some of the stuff is just pretty weird and random and just seeing the horrors of drugs is the other scary thing. The acting in this movie is extremely good. You feel for the characters by the end of the movie. After I saw the movie it just kept playing through my head and I kept thinking about the music, so the next day I went out and bought the soundtrack. I don't know why certain critics knock on this movie, because it is so amazing. Well good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Requiem for "Traffic"
Review: Given the sanitized version of drug use in the current trend "Traffic", this film will enlighten anyone truly interested in seeing the dark side of drug use. Ellen Burstyn's superb portrayal of Sara Goldfarb demonstrates how easy it is to get pulled into the world of drugs. The pain of unfulfilled dreams is often remedied by the balm of the feel-good quick fix. This is a tough film, but well worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book; Better Movie
Review: I first read 'Requiem' my freshman year of college. Until I saw this movie, I did not think anyone could ever do it justice. Despite what critics say, this movie is not about heroin. It is not 'Trainspotting.' This movie is about love in all of its forms-- love of the living, love of the lost, and love of substance. It shows just how quickly want can turn to need and up can flip to down. Ellen Burstyn (Yes, the mommy from 'Exorcist.')is phenomenal, delivering an Oscar-worthy performance. Marlon Wayans proves equally impressive, shedding his 'Marlon Brothers' and 'Scary Movie' personas to play his part with a talent and beauty few actors still possess. This tale, tragic as anything Shakespeare ever created, will make your eyes water, your heart ache and your hand cover your mouth. But your head will not turn. Spine-tingling and gut-wrenching as this film may be, you will not be able to move away from its quality. The tragedy of this film, however, will never compare to the lack of recognition it will receive at the Oscars.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Hard-Hitting Film
Review: This intense film stayed with me a long time after seeing it. A hard look at the destruction caused by drug abuse, this is a must-see for those willing to take a dark ride. Though graphic, teenagers should view this film, as it drives home the peril of drugs better than a "just say 'no' type of campaign. Ellen Burstyn deserves the oscar for a heart-breaking performance.
Rating: 
Summary: Requiem for a Dream
Review: With little doubt "Requiem for a Dream" (based on Hubert Selby Jr.'s novel) is a relentlessly bleak and austere film that left me breathless and emotionally devastated after I left the theater. I don't believe that this film is about heroin addiction per se, but has much more to do with addiction in its many splendored forms. On the one hand you have physical addictions (i.e., drugs, sex, and money), and on the other you have addictions of a far more intangible variety (e.g., irremediable attractions to unattainable dreams and desires). Obviously the characters portrayed by Jared Leto, Marlon Wayans, and that actress whose name I can't seem to remember appear on the surface to suffer from physical addictions (i.e., heroin), but below the surface they suffer interminably from delusions of grandeur, i.e., the American Dream. The more dope they shoot into their veins the more palpable this absurd vision of opulence becomes, until finally the rug gets swept from underneath their feet and they lie prone and helpless amidst the devastation that surrounds them. But even when Leto, Wayans, and the girl eventually become aware of the imminent fall they still manage to convince themselves that their dreams still possess that chance (no matter how slight and insignificant) of coming to fruition. This naive presumption, in my opinion, is the driving force behind this remarkable film. Most Americans think that by the time they've reached a certain age (say, 35 or 40) they should have a pretty firm grasp on life and not vice versa. However reality, in most cases, tends to rub most people the wrong way leaving them either 1) disappointed with what they have or have not accomplished or 2) generally angry, depressed, or downright perturbed about their miserable existences. Now I don't believe that the primary message in "Requiem" is as trite as "be happy with what you've got and be careful when you pause to think about what you haven't", but I do believe that it runs closely along those lines. It's no secret that the media and our democratic "theology" has a lot to do with injecting people with this bankrupt notion that anyone can achieve monetary success so long as they try their damnedest. Many individuals obviously do prosper and flourish in this incomparable republic we call the United States. But for every "one" there are hundreds of thousands who fail ignominiously and perish without even so much as uttering a whimper. Selby's novel (and Aronofsky's excellent cinematic adaptation) brings the hammer down on these misconceptions and shatters them with a force that will not soon be forgotten.
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking, brilliant, unforgettable
Review: Hubert Selby Jr.'s elegiac and mesmerizing novel about four addicts of different varieties appeared in 1978 and ranked alongside Selby's "Last Exit to Brooklyn" (also made into a superior film) as one of his best books. Darren ("Pi") Aronofsky was himself a Selby fan and eventually persuaded the Thousand Arts production company to finance his $5M film of the novel.The resulting film is as horrific and fascinating as anything ever put on a screen. The plot isn't complicated: Junkie Harry (a nearly unrecognizeable Jared Leto) takes to pawning his mother's TV set for heroin. His buddy Tyrone (Marlon Wayans, in a performance that makes his turn in "Scary Movie" and other junk look like total red herrings) hatches a plan with him to score for a pound of pure and put them on the fast track to riches. Harry's girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) has vague plans of opening a boutique with her share of the gains. And Harry's mother (a truly amazing Ellen Burstyn) is obsessed with appearing on her favorite TV show. Movies like this are not about plotting but emotion. We know there is no happy ending possible here; what matters is not what happens but how and to what extent. The final 20 minutes -- which have been written about endlessly elsewhere -- are a masterpiece of Soviet-style intercutting and gradually mounting, excruciating tension that does not even end with the release of death, but with the promise of unending, ongoing pain. This isn't a pretty movie. This isn't a movie for your mother (well, I guess that depends on the family), or a movie for the whole family. This is a movie about despair and destroyed dreams. In short, this is a movie about something -- and it tells its story with such fierce style and power that it almost makes issues of taste or subject matter irrelevant. You may not like the film -- and there are many who don't -- but you can't deny its power, or the skill involved in making it.
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