2. Requiem for a Dream
Hubert Selby Jr's shattering tome about the effects of drug-use is a masterful novel, and it took a director as singular and daring as Darren Aronofsky to build upon that, utilising cinematic techniques to tantalising effect in his take on Requiem for a Dream. What's so brilliant is how savvy Aronofsky is in manipulating the viewer, preying on our familiarity with the "cool" drug film - like Trainspotting - and inundating us with flashy, hyper-kinetic MTV-style visuals, which lull us into a false sense of security that nothing of real emotional resonance is going to happen. Slowly throughout the film, this slick veil begins to fall, and by act three, the four principal characters - each warped by their addictions - have arrived at their various depraved conclusions. Aronofsky turns his frantic aesthetic in on itself, as a weapon with which to assault the viewer, displaying a series of horrific images in an unforgettable, dissonant montage that ranks among cinema's most powerful moments. This produces the sort of effect that a book never can; it makes us feel ill on a sensory level.