10 Genius Editing Decisions That Made Movie Scenes Great
4. The Horrifying Climax Turns "MTV-Style" Editing Against The Audience - Requiem For A Dream
Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream is a deeply confronting film about the perils of addiction - narcotic and otherwise - and one which is bolstered by both its exceptional performances and Jay Rabinowitz's masterful editing job.
The movie's visual identity is largely defined by its frantic "MTV-style" editing, which makes heavy use of fast montages to depict the characters' frenzied mental states after using drugs, lending the film a flashy, sexy vibe for the most part.
But in the film's third act, everything comes crashing down for the principal characters, and at this point it becomes clear that Aronofsky was basically luring audiences in with the self-consciously slick visuals, only to then turn them against viewers in a brutal final sensory assault.
The closing montage sequence cuts between Sara (Ellen Burstyn) receiving electro-convulsive therapy, Marion (Jennifer Connelly) taking part in a lurid sex show, Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) pulling hard labour in prison, and Harry's (Jared Leto) junked-up arm being amputated.
It'd be a horrifying sequence no matter how it was presented, and yet Aronofsky's violent style of montage creates a uniquely nightmarish vision that nevertheless remains consistent with the film's glossy established aesthetic.