Okay, one of the main problems with living in a smaller place (not tiny, but not a major city) is that we don’t get a lot of the movies I want to see. The main theaters usually only bring in the most mainstream films.
Luckily, though, there is an arthouse theater that brings in smaller and indie films. The only problem is that it usually gets them in a couple of months after they come out everywhere else. But, they do come here eventually.
So tonight, I am off to see Requiem for a Dream for the first time. I am very stoked, as I really liked Aronofsky’s film Pi. Also Hamlet, starring Ethan Hawke, is playing after it (it was here before, but people asked for the theater to bring it back).
Anyway, I was wondering what the dopers that have already seen Requiem thought? I know this is premature but I’m trying to kill some time before going and was wondering what others’ impressions of it had been. I’m leaving right away, so I’ll check back afterwards (and hence will know what you’re talking about). Also, I’ll probably throw up MHO as well.
So, what did you guys and gals think?
Most horrifying movie I ever saw. Two thumbs up!
In some ways it’s the best movie I saw in 2000… But I don’t know if I’d ever watch it again! It’s VERY harsh. Everything that was unconventional and weird about Pi is ratched up 10-fold here. Holy shit. It kind of made Traffic seem wishy-washy and blah when I saw it two days later.
Just saw it and it completely blew me away. Loved it. But yeah, you are both right, it’s very harsh. Though, I’ve got to see it again. There’s so much happening at all times that I know I missed somethings, if not a lot of things. The cinematography was amazing, to say the least, and pretty much all other aspects of the film were also great.
The end and other parts were physically heart-wrenching. Despite the wonderful style that Aronofsky has, you still really feel for the characters. If anything, his style draws you in moreso (it being fairly expressionistic).
I thought it was fantastic. I never want to see it again. The ending was one of the most intense things I’ve ever seen on film.
I really loved it, except for when that Wayans brother was in prison and started thinking about his mother. It just seemed kinda misplaced and awkward.
But other than that, I thought the characters were well-rounded, and never fell into cliches.
I loveditloveditlovedit & plan to buy it the second it comes out on DVD!!!
Though I’m not sure about the casting of Jennifer Connelly. For whatever reason, she keeps showing up these sort of dark movies (Dark City springs readily to mind) & I’m not really sure she belongs in them. When I read the book, I pictured somebody more like Helena Bonham Carter in Fight Club, if you brushed her hair. Plus she looked about ten years older than Jared Leto. Ellen Burstyn, OTOH, was incredible!!!
it was incredible !!!
(did you know that the writer / director is doing the new Batman movie? … it is to be a dark night batman and I think I am pumped for a batman movie for the first time since the first one came out, but I digress)
the imagery of drug use was amazing - the correlations between the mother’s style of addiction, and the kids, was very well done !
One of the best films I saw in 2K … pulled me right out of funk I was in and kept me energetic and psyched for days !!
Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s could be such a depressing film, but it was too energetic to be as depressing as the story was. The visuals were simply mind-blowing.
Oh, and btw, he’s doing the next Batman but it’s Batman: Year One. It’s written by the same guy that did the Dark Knights (Frank Miller) but it takes place in the first year that Bruce Wayne was Batman. So, no cool gadgets or cool costume (at first, anyway). Aronofsky is writing the film with Frank Miller and Aronofsky has said to forget anything you’ve ever seen in a Batman movie. What that means, I’m not sure. But it sure has got me excited for it too.
Oh, and Stella, you said you read the book. I was curious, how closely does the film follow the book?