Because of its extremely graphic nature, there's a possibility that "Requiem for a Dream" might not ever reach the audience that could probably benefit most from seeing it.
That's because the film has been released to theaters without a rating after the Motion Picture Association of America threatened to give it an NC-17 rating, which has pretty much spelled doom for any film bearing that unfortunate distinction. And as a result, that's made theater owners even more watchful for underage moviegoers trying to get in to see it.
More's the pity, believe it or not. Yes, the film probably does deserve that NC-17 with its graphic depictions of drug use and sexual debasement. However, if there's ever been a movie capable of scaring drug users straight or deterring some from ever using drugs in the first place, it's this vivid drama/fantasy, which sears itself into the viewer's brain with an approach that could best be compared to a red-hot branding iron to the cranium.
The resulting work is so powerful you may feel the after-effects for days. But at the same time, it's so disturbing that you may not ever want to see it again. And the possibility exists that it may be more than most audiences can handle in one sitting.
In any case, it's quite an accomplishment for filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, who made a big splash with his debut, the acclaimed science-fiction film "Pi." Here, he's adapting Hubert Selby Jr.'s seemingly unadaptable 1978 novel about drug-addicted New Yorkers.
In most of their cases, that addiction may have been caused by unhappy relationships or poor self-image. For instance, lonely widow Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) is trying to lose a few pounds because she's convinced she's going to appear on her favorite television game show. Unfortunately, she's found herself unable to drop the weight on her own and has instead started to take prescription diet pills, to which she's quickly become addicted.
Sara's son Harry (Jared Leto), on the other hand, is suffering from an addiction to heroin and is getting more and more desperate for cash to fund his habit. So he and his best friend, Tyrone (Marlon Wayans), become drug dealers, though they soon discover how dangerous that line of work can be.
Meanwhile, Harry's girlfriend, Marion (Jennifer Connelly), is trying to follow her dream of becoming a fashion designer, but she finds that the only way she can do that and continue to use drugs is to sell her body, first to her sleazy psychiatrist (Sean Gullette, from "Pi") and then to an even worse character (Keith David).
Again, this story of people caught up in a self-destructive spiral of drug use, abuse and personal debasement may be beyond the capacity of most audiences to absorb. There are times where Aronofsky simply goes too far, and his extreme editing style (with help from editor Jay Rabinowitz) sometimes detracts from the on-screen action.
So he's fortunate that the cast is as good as it is. Leto manages to make Harry sympathetic despite some of his actions (and despite the awkward "New Yawk" accent), as does Wayans. But as good as they are, their two female co-stars are even stronger. Connelly has never been better, while Burstyn's convincing and heartbreaking performance is definitely Oscar-caliber work.
"Requiem for a Dream" is not rated, though it would have received an NC-17 for its graphic depiction of drug use, including heroin, marijuana and prescription-drug abuse, graphic aberrant sex, full female and male nudity, scattered strong profanity, violence (mostly gunplay), use of crude sexual slang and some crude humor, brief gore and use of racial epithets. Running time: 102 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com