Requiem for a Dream (2000)
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Four individuals find their lives unraveling as they become trapped in a cycle of drug addiction and desperate delusions.
The story
The film depicts four characters affected by drug addiction and how it alters their physical and emotional states. Their addictions cause them to become imprisoned in a world of delusion and desperation. As the film progresses, each character deteriorates, and their delusions are shattered by the harsh reality of their situations, resulting in catastrophe. The story follows a widow, a young man, his friend, and his girlfriend as they navigate the consequences of their choices in a gritty urban landscape.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Sara Goldfarb, a widow in New York, begins a crash diet and takes amphetamines to appear on a game show, eventually descending into psychosis. Her son Harry and his friend Tyrone are heroin addicts; Harry's girlfriend Marion is also struggling with addiction. As the characters' lives spiral, Tyrone is caught in a gang shootout, and Harry's health fails. Marion turns to a pimp for drugs, while Sara is hospitalized for her mental state. The film concludes with each character in a state of physical or mental collapse, ending with a hallucinatory sequence where Sara imagines a successful reunion with her son.
- First release year
- 2000
- Runtime (minutes)
- 102
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Darren Aronofsky
- Writers
- Hubert Selby Jr. · screenplay; Darren Aronofsky · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Ellen Burstyn · Sara Goldfarb; Jared Leto · Harry Goldfarb; Jennifer Connelly · Marion Silver; Marlon Wayans · Tyrone C. Love; Christopher McDonald
- Genres
- psychological drama
- Themes
- addiction; loneliness; avoidance of reality
- Tone and mood
- intense; bleak; harrowing
- Premise and plot tags
- drug addiction; psychological drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- Hubert Selby Jr.'s 1978 novel
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews and was praised for its intense imagery and performances, though some critics found its style to be overwhelming.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 79% · review count: 180; Metacritic · score: 71 · scale: 100 · review count: 32
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe Award · Best Actress · Nomination; Academy Award · Best Actress · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film features over 2,000 cuts.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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