4. Requiem For A Dream (2000)
Based on the novel by Hubert Selby Jr., Aronofsky's Requiem For A Dream is a story of addiction and how it transcends age and gender. It is an intricately told story following the lives of Sara and Harry Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn and Jared Leto), Marion (Jennifer Connelly), and Tyrone (Marlon Wayans). Harry, Marion, and Tyrone are all friends who are all well-meaning people looking to become successes and live very much in the moment. Harry and Marion are not only friends, but lovers who are looking into starting their own business while Tyrone is simply trying to live up to expectations by hustling his way around town. Their addiction is in the form of heroin and they become engulfed in drug trafficking. Sara's addiction comes in the form of weight loss pills when she's asked to take part in a TV game show she watches on the regular. Realizing she no longer fits into her favorite red dress, she takes extreme measures in regaining her prime physical form. For as much as we want these people to succeed, the film takes on a life of its own as we watch the gradual degradation of each of these characters. Through the deconstruction of the film's protagonists, they find inherent value where they felt displaced by society. Sara Goldfarb develops a dependency on the weight loss pills and sedatives she's prescribed, thus forming an addiction. Because of this, she hallucinates at various points throughout the film and finally, takes the subway to Manhattan in search of the TV show executives responsible for her invite. Once she stumbles into the office, she's taken away and committed to a psychiatric ward where she undergoes various medical treatments and shock therapy, which leads to her losing her mind completely. Harry and Tyrone are en route to Florida to try and score some heroin, but an infection in Harry's arm spreads rapidly, forcing them to make a stop in South Carolina. There, Harry and Tyrone are arrested for skipping bail. In prison, Harry is taken to a hospital where his arm is amputated and Tyrone is forced to work hard labor amongst guards throwing racial slurs at him. Marion meets with a pimp to support her drug habit, but finds herself entangled in a world of degrading sexual activity as she becomes objectified at parties the pimp throws in his apartment. It's only through their mistakes that these characters find meaning in their own lives. For instance, Tyrone in his prison cell, curls into a fetal position and his first thought is of his mother and being held by her. He realizes the error of his ways and is at the beginning stages of repentance. The significance of Harry's amputation is that it serves as a physical reminder that his addiction cost him so much more than the loss of his arm. Sara is finally at some semblance of peace by the end, but her friends mourn her loss as they realize she's no longer the person she was. Though physically present, she's at a distance, mentally. Each of these characters' displacement comes from not living up to expectations, wanting to establish themselves, and the search for acceptance, all of whom are awarded such acceptance. They are very much aware of their existence and do what they can to improve upon their situations. However, it's the methods they employ that cost them dearly. The title of the film says it all, really, and in Sara's last dream that closes out the film, she has lost weight, and is on the TV show along with Harry and Marion (who are engaged and well off) as they celebrate her winning the grand prize as the crowd cheers them on. A requiem by definition, derives from the term Requiem Mass, which serves a celebration for dead souls at rest. I don't think the ending could've been more apropos.