filmcritic . com presents a review from staff member jeremiah kipp . you can find the review with full credits at <a href= " http : //filmcritic . com/misc/emporium . nsf/2a460f93626cd4678625624c007f2b46/c0d27d402232edf3882569740004ddd7 ? opendocument " >http : //filmcritic . com/misc/emporium . nsf/2a460f93626cd4678625624c007f2b46/c0d27d402232edf3882569740004ddd7 ? opendocument</a> imagine trainspotting without any trace of humor and you're on the right track . picture pasolini's salo : 120 days of sodom shot by some mtv music video kid interested in the novelty of his new camera . darren aronofsky ( pi ) stacks one degrading sight atop another without implicating the viewer , nor providing any framework or reference for his visual rape of his audience - all smoke and mirrors disguising a great , vapid emptiness . for starters , i've never seen coney island junkies who look as pretty as harry ( jared leto ) and tyrone ( marlon wayans ) , who bear a passing resemblance to the kids from calvin klein ads . they're drug dealers who have high aspirations , saving their earnings for a better tomorrow . placing all their cash in a locker , they sit under the boardwalk smoking up and dreaming their grandiose dreams . too bad they get high too often off their own supply . the good times can't last forever . the drug use scenes are done in vivid smash cuts showing dilating pupils , squeezing needles , the sizzle of white powder cooked in a spoon . we never see these kids shoot up -- rather , we see abstract images . every time this technique appears , it's too flashy and aware of its own experimental filmmaking approach , a purely stylistic flourish . kronos quartet wrote the driving , thumping , angry , brutal violin score which drums like a hammer and chain beating you into submission . harry , tyrone , and their ambitious if drug addled friend marion ( a very good jennifer connelly ) , who could be a great designer were it not for her plunge into addiction , eventually become slaves to their own destructive destinies . they run out of money , and in the second half of the movie they move through a bleak winter , suffering the eternal torments of the damned . each situation is set up so neatly , we're certain where the path will lead . harry sports a nasty welt on his arm which doesn't look so good . tyrone discovers that maybe that trip to florida to track down some fresh supply was a bad idea -- since them southern boys don't like colored folk . marion eventually telephones a sadistic pimp ( keith david ) and sells her body for drugs . the movie's first scene involves harry stealing his mom's television set . she can always go right down the block in half an hour and buy it back . that's their adorable dog and pony show , and poor sara goldfarb ( ellen burstyn ) is too nice , too soft around the edges , so apathetic she won't do anything about it . her husband is dead , harry is all she's got left . ellen burstyn is so good , so unglamorous and believable as a brighton beach jewish mama , that she shines through aronofsky's bag of tricks and delivers a strong , sad , comic performance . at first , sara seems to share the addiction of the film's other characters , endlessly watching her television , but when she gets a surprise phone call asking her to appear on a tv show she realizes she's too overweight to fit into the red dress her husband once admired her in . she goes on a diet . unfortunately for the audience , midway through we realize that sara's in trouble . she's gone to a quack doctor for some diet pills , which turn out to be speed . she's gnashing her teeth in no time , and the worst is yet to come . sara's refrigerator starts roaring like a lion as the images become fuzzy and , well , straight out of terry gilliam's superior fear and loathing in las vegas . in short order , sara wears the same junkie shoes as her younger co-stars . while it's painful to watch a harmless old woman descend into the circle of hell , she could easily have escaped it by going to another doctor for a second opinion . some critics are sure to fawn over requiem . it goes further than most films into uncomfortable territory , and the spinning visuals are technically accomplished . i'm sure darren aronofsky's courage will be extolled -- yes , it's so bold to show human misery without sympathy or understanding . i'm not against violence or torture onscreen . the best film to compare requiem to is pasolini's salo . wisely , pasolini used restraint with his camera and simply filmed people being sexually abused and beaten without showy fanfare . salo creates a hollow , disturbing feeling of helplessness . ultimately , aronofsky lacks that crucial insight when showing the nature of horror . his gaze feels inexperienced . perhaps young filmmakers should not attempt to tackle the bleak world before they have had a chance to go through it themselves . ( salo was pasolini's final film ; mike leigh's bleak naked was made when he was middle aged . ) once we get past the notion that addiction is a horrible thing ( which i don't believe is news to anyone who will watch requiem for a dream ) , the question remains : what purpose does this film serve ? let me know if you figure it out . 
