I finally got around to seeing Tom Chick's best. movie. ever. Requiem for a Dream. Definitely a better film than Aranofsky's previous effort, Pi. I enjoyed Pi as an exercise in style, but it was ultimately a little too arty and pretentious for me.

I was ready to give Requiem a thumbs down until the brilliant television scene. One of the best mindbenders since Brazil, which is no mean feat. It had me spellbound. I've _never_ seen such a harrowing and brutally realistic portrayal of an abandoned mother falling prey to addiction. People get left behind; it happens every day. The circle of people who care about you slowly closes in closer and closer until you're the only person left-- and there's nobody left to catch you if you fall. This, to me, was the real focus of the movie and I couldn't stop watching it for that reason.

The other story thread I found considerably less compelling. I've certainly seen treatments of young adults and drugs done with less obvious melodrama than in the Jared Leto / Wayans / Connely thread (Drugstore Cowboy comes to mind).

Speaking of which, can we ease up on some of the more obnoxious visual effects, for chrissakes? How about letting the actors carry the scene with their acting, as Ellen Burstyn does so brilliantly with her monologue? I enjoyed a few of the flashback scenes (the cop and the gun, the coney island boardwalk in the window), but so many of the effects just got in the way. How many times do I need to see the "this is your brain on drugs" montage? I GET IT ALREADY.

My biggest beef with the movie is the "worst of all possible worlds for everyone" scene. This strained my suspension of disbelief way, way beyond the breaking point. If the "everyone lives happily ever after" ending is cliched, then shouldn't the "everyone gets royally screwed at the same time" ending be just as cliched? C'mon. It's just too poetically convenient.

Leaving Las Vegas handled this better. Sure, the ending was depressing, but it didn't feel contrived and convenient like Requiem's ending did.

Chick can have his best. movie. ever. of 2000, or whatever he's calling it. I'll just call it a must see because of the Ellen Burstyn storyline. The rest of it isn't chopped liver, but it's disposable as far as I'm concerned. No comparison.

p.s. Did you guys notice the indian guy from Office Space as the mailman? Heh.

Boy, are you gonna get it when Tom wakes up.

"Leaving Las Vegas handled this better. Sure, the ending was depressing, but it didn't feel contrived and convenient like Requiem's ending did."

The ending of Leaving Las Vegas wasn't convenient and contrived? News to me.

I liked Requiem a lot more than I thought I would. I definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it already. When it works (Burstyn), it's astonishing. When it doesn't, it feels a little bit like a Busta Rhymes music video gone horribly awry.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

"The ending of Leaving Las Vegas wasn't convenient and contrived? News to me."

Well, it's debatable, but I stand by my original opinion: if the "everyone lives happily ever after" ending is unacceptable, so is the "everyone lives miserably ever after" ending. I prefer a little more ambivalence-- since things are rarely that black and white in my experience.

You Can Count on Me did this beautifully, but I'm biased due to the recent viewing. I'm sure there are lots of others.

"Well, it's debatable, but I stand by my original opinion: if the "everyone lives happily ever after" ending is unacceptable, so is the "everyone lives miserably ever after" ending."

It may be debatable, but I wouldn't debate it that way, tough guy. Unless I get to be on the other side.

I haven't read the board in a while, though, so the statute of limitations on your post may have expired. It was like from a million days ago.