Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Don’t do drugs.
Presentation:
In cinema, it’s typically hard to portray anti-war or anti-drugs due to natural glorification through cinematic frames and performances (ahem, Euphoria). However, this is a case where the film is truly a horrific cautionary tale of the downward spiral of substance abuse. Jennifer Connelly and Jared Leto seem like Romeo and Juliet, and you do want to see them win. This makes the film all the more tragic and you almost can’t bear to watch the events unfolding. It’s a dark film utilizing fish eye lenses to depict the distorted reality of these addicted teens in despair and there’s of course a few scenes that are still pretty shocking by today’s standards.
Conclusion:
A traumatizing film that you probably will only watch once but should stain your memory. It’s a bit too explicit and realistic for some that should make audiences uncomfortable by design, but that’s also what makes this film achieve such a reputation. Hollywood acknowledges and even glorifies drug abuse, but this film is so strong it might nullify every one of those films.
Recommendations
Come and become traumatized.