Requiem for a Dream (2000)

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.

Director:

Darren Aronofsky

Writers:

Hubert Selby Jr. (based on the book by), Hubert Selby Jr. (screenplay)

Stars:

Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly

Top Rated Movies #91 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 34 wins & 63 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ellen Burstyn	...	Sara Goldfarb
Jared Leto	...	Harry Goldfarb
Jennifer Connelly	...	Marion Silver
Marlon Wayans	...	Tyrone C. Love
Christopher McDonald	...	Tappy Tibbons
Louise Lasser	...	Ada
Marcia Jean Kurtz	...	Rae
Janet Sarno	...	Mrs. Pearlman
Suzanne Shepherd	...	Mrs. Scarlini
Joanne Gordon	...	Mrs. Ovadia
Charlotte Aronofsky	...	Mrs. Miles
Mark Margolis	...	Mr. Rabinowitz
Michael Kaycheck	...	Donut Cop (as Mike Kaycheck)
Jack O'Connell	...	Corn Dog Stand Boss
Chas Mastin	...	Lyle Russel

Storyline

Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) is a retired widow, living in a small apartment. She spends most of her time watching TV, especially a particular self-help show. She has delusions of rising above her current dull existence by being a guest on that show. Her son, Harry (Jared Leto) is a junkie but along with his friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) has visions of making it big by becoming a drug dealer. Harry's girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) could be fashion designer or artist but is swept along in Harry's drug-centric world. Meanwhile Sara has developed an addiction of her own. She desperately wants to lose weight and so goes on a crash course involving popping pills, pills which turn out to be very addictive and harmful to her mental state.

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Plot Keywords:

drug addiction | heroin | sex show | sex scene | addiction | 

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Taglines:

From the director of [Pi]

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for intense depiction of drug addiction, graphic sexuality, strong language and some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Requiem for a Dream

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$64,770, 8 October 2000

Gross USA:

$3,635,482

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,390,108

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artisan Entertainment, Thousand Words, Sibling Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

(At around 2 minutes) In the opening scene, the sounds of a string quartet can be heard tuning up for a performance in the soundtrack. Just before the title rolls down, you hear a conductor tap on his music stand to ready the quartet for a performance. The people tuning up are the Kronos Quartet, who played most of the music for the film. The maestro bringing them to attention is Darren Aronofsky, the director.

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Goofs

(at around 15 mins, at around 23 mins) At two different times during the movie (when Marion, Harry and Tyrone are discussing the possibility of getting heroin from Brody, and when Harry is sitting around waiting for Tyrone to come back with Brody's heroin), records are supposedly playing, but the tone arms are in the 'up' position and the stylus is sitting above the record.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Tappy Tibbons: We got a winner, I said we got a winner, we got a winner! Our next winner is that delightful personality, straight from Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, please give a juicy welcome to Mrs. Sara Goldfarb!
The Audience: Juice by Sara, juice by Sara, juice by Sara oh, Sara's got juice, Sara's got juice, ohhhhhhhh Sara!
Tappy Tibbons: I'm delighted to tell you, that you've just won the grand prize!
Sara Goldfarb: [elated] Oh, no!
Tappy Tibbons: Now let me tell you what you've won. Your prize has a sweet smile, and his own private business. He just got ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits each disappear as if being melted like heroin.

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Alternate Versions

In the opening credits for the edited version, when the title card "Requiem for a Dream" crashes down, underneath it is a red box with red lettering that reads "edited version", making it clear to the viewer that they are not seeing the true version of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Sideline Secrets 1 (2006)

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Soundtracks

Summer Overture
by Clint Mansell

User Reviews

Disturbing, Graphic and Great

I went to this movie hearing plenty of buzz about how graphic the content was. Over the course of the movie you see just how Aronofsky wants to send his message to the audience. The characters start off with somewhat mild addictions and then next thing you know the four main characters are living in hell. I couldn't believe how low they all fell. This movie may be the greatest anti-drug message of all time. I dare anybody to watch this and to not be touched and frightened by these characters. Before the movie started I noticed the audience was quite loud and garrulous, but as it ended and the credits rolled the whole place was stone cold silent. It was amazing.

As a whole I felt the movie was excellent. The visuals were well done and the editing was outstanding. The actors really put themselves into their roles. Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly had very good chemistry, while Marlon Wayans showed he is a talented actor and not just a talented comic. Ellen Burstyn. Wow! She was amazing. I can't believe an older woman would allow herself to be filmed like that. She has some serious guts. Hands down the best female performance I've watched this year, not even close. I was totally amazed by her.

All in all, I would say Requiem For a Dream is a great movie. It had a profound impact on me and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I watched it on opening night. I definitely recommend this movie to anyone. This is a movie everyone should see, but unfortunately not enough will.