Requiem for a Dream

Requiem for a Dream

The film that I chose for this paper was “Requiem for a Dream”. I know that many people may say that this movie is just a drug movie, but really, it’s not at all. I think the director was trying to convey that anything can become a drug. It could be TV, coffee, dope, or even hope. Everything has the potential to become a drug. I chose this particular one because of what a masterpiece of cinema it is. It has spectacular visuals, sound, and mise en scene, but above all, it has a very interesting method of editing that I find very intriguing. When I was watching the film, I was very mesmerized by the way they transitioned a lot of scenes from one to another. The particular scene I am using occurs within the first third of the movie, and characters involved are Marion (played by Jennifer Connelly), Harry (played by Jared Leto), and Sarah (played by Ellen Burstyn). It starts out with Marion and Harry at the beach in Coney Island, Brooklyn, and Harry is telling Marion that he wants to get something for his mother as a gift to show her that he loves her. The scene occurs before the self-imploding downward spiral they all crash in. Really, it is the last scene before they all become severe addicts. The particular part of the scene I wanted to pay careful attention to was the transition between Coney Island beach to Sarah’s apartment. It has an astounding montage of sharp visuals paired with sharp sounds. It is then followed by Sarah hopped up on the weight loss pill cleaning her whole apartment furiously. While fast-time montages are relatively common, this one moves with the action. It gives the illusion of real time movement panning, but then it has Sarah working at breakneck speed. I think it shows how she was affected by the drug, as well as shows what happens over time to her.

This sequence is of particular interest because it embodies the editing genius of Darren Aronofsky. The story of the movie is a good one anyway, it could have been done by any number of excellent directors, but the editing is really what makes you feel the movie better. They could have shown the characters sitting around a table taking the drugs, but instead they bring it in your face with striking visuals and sounds. The transition is captivating, and then followed by an intense montage with a powerful soundtrack.

When I thoroughly studied every clip in the transition montage, I noticed how they paired certain actions of taking the drugs by Harry and Marion with Sarah’s consumption of her two drugs, her pill and her coffee. Here is what I found:

Harry biting corner off Sarah taking the cap off

Shot of boiling drug Dropping pill in hand

Close-up of boiling water (bubbles)

Red smoke billow

Hand clenching Popping pill in mouth

Iris dilate Water faucet