Requiem for a Dream

"Requiem for a Dream is a 2000 drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Marlon Wayans and Jennifer Connelly. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Hubert Selby, Jr., with whom Aronofsky wrote the screenplay. Burstyn was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. The film was screened out of competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival." (Wikipedia)

This is an interesting one with four characters; Harry, his mother Sara, girlfriend Marion, and accomplice Ty. Things start off with Sara in late middle age alone and living in an impoverished apartment in an American city on the east coast, possibly New York. She is overweight and dowdy spending her time watching game shows on tv and obsessed with the idea of losing enough weight to wear the red dress she wore to Harry's high school graduation when she goes on a television game show. To achieve this end she begins taking diet pills to stop eating and sleepers at night. At the same time Harry who started off pawning her tv for smack makes the effort to start dealing along with Marion and his mate Ty. Things seem to be going smoothly despite ups and downs but the predictable decline sets in for all. Sara overheats on the pills, the boys have to head south for gear leaving Marion to fend for herself in the city and each winds up facing a personal pit of degradation. The whole decline is handled in a rather unsettling spiral of part fantasy alluding to the various states of madness and withdrawal each experiences ending in a stark climax making for what adds up to an off key but watchable movie about drugs, addiction and obsession. Certainly not documentary or graphic it sticks to the stereotypes but doesn't labour them too much and I'll watch it again sometime.