Requiem for a Dream is one of those movies, that, when it is over, you are stuck in a trance. It lacks the humor that is found in its oft compared brothers Fear and Loathing and Spun. About an hour after you are released from the temporary catatonic state. Which is nice because you can escape from the dark depression the film brings on. This is only a temporary reprieve because once you leave the emotional state the film induces, your mind is free to ponder what just happened.
Though it is often portrayed as a “look at the horrors of drugs” movie, it is much more. The first thing to notice is that the characters that use drugs end up on them both on purpose and on accident. The two story lines weave together. As the director noted, this is not an “illegal” drug movie, but a movie about addiction and anyone can be addicted to anything. Inevitably we all become addicted to something that gets in the way of our dreams (hence the film’s title).
I find the film much darker. No one has just one dream. The pursuit of one dream/goal will interfere with the pursuit of another. Slavish dedication to one dream will rule out all others and leave the dreamer unhappy in achievement. Life is suffering and try as Americans do to avoid suffering- it cannot be done. That is the paradox: suffering precludes happiness and the removal of suffering also removes happiness.
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