What type of movie is requiem for a dream

Darren read with every actor in town for the part that eventually went to Jennifer. Watson: We had a lot of actors show up for that role. We were surprised at the response that we got. We had a session where Jared was already onboard, and we had Jennifer come in, because she wanted to do the film. They did the scene, and she basically threw him around the room in the audition. And we were just like, wow. Leto: I think she threw a chair across the room. Jennifer Connelly, Marion Silver: I remember loving the script and feeling strongly about it.

I found it moving. Devastating, but also really moving. I remember wanting so much to be part of it: I really want to fight for this one. And it was a bit of a fight. She came in, and I was not expecting anything, and she left with the role.

Marlon Wayans, Tyrone C. Love: I started out with the script and I was like, Oh, hell no. I read the script, I read the book, and as soon as I saw Pi , I knew what the movie would be. Watson: [Wayans] had gone to the performing arts high school in New York. We knew that he had that background with him, and that capacity. And in the auditions, he was able to show a lot of range and capacity to handle dramatic scenes. We had no fear about it. And he never really chose to do [drama] again, but he could have.

I studied drama for four years every day. Aronofsky: I wanted to cast Dave Chappelle. So he passed. But I always felt like a comedian for that role would be great.

Wayans: I slept in the same clothes, literally, for ten days. I barely washed. I would talk like the character. My boys would come over to the house — Omar Epps was concerned, like, Are you okay?

Marlon was in such a daze — it was one of those lots that has those nails if you go the wrong direction, and he tore out his tires on his car. He came in and we ended up having more time together, because they were waiting for his car to get towed. The fact that he was from New York, from a neighborhood I knew well growing up — I felt that he could really connect to the character. I was channeling Tony Robbins, walking down the street, talking to people. Aronofksy: All of the younger actors got there a month before or something.

We even went to a nightclub — to Twilo or the Tunnel one night. I remember it only because in the middle of the night they turned on the lights.

I guess they got raided by the police. Wayans: I sat with Darren and he explained the vision. This is stereotypical! Leto: I think rehearsal was eight weeks, which is very rare, that a director can wrangle actors for that amount of time.

There were lots of read throughs and rehearsals but I think the big, most impactful part was the kind of, just the dive into character. Aronofsky: Jared definitely has a very method technique, and he really wanted to dive into the world of addicts and stuff. Leto: I did whatever I thought I could do in order to bring more authenticity to the role, more honesty. More truth. So I spent time with a group of people in the East Village, many of whom are no longer alive — they lost their battles to addiction.

They were very supportive and helpful and generous with their time and their experiences and there were nights that I spent basically homeless. Connelly: I took to making a bunch of my own clothing and accessories.

And I spent time meeting people my age who were on the streets and using, talking to them about their experiences. Wayans: We sat with addicts. We went to a clinic and talked about the effects of heroin. We did a lot of research.

Darren took my shirt off and made me walk around the streets of New York in February because he wanted me to understand what it was like — what winter in New York was going to feel like even though he was filming in the summer.

I was like, Hey bro, I grew up in New York. I know how cold it is. I also thought that if I lost a lot of weight and was restricting my food intake, that would put me in a place of constant craving. I thought that was a good place to be. Connelly: It manifests differently, that hunger. The lack of safety manifests differently for all of the characters and is expressed in different ways through different vices and specific addictions.

I just tried to focus mostly on that sense of something missing. A lot of people can relate to that feeling. Jared is the opposite of me. Jared is super-method. He stays in it the entire time. Not everybody gets skinny, not everybody gets emaciated. Aronofsky: I was just Jewish mothering [Leto], and trying to constantly feed him, just because I wanted him to have the energy to get through it.

But he was healthy and young, and it must help create a space for him to feel free to do what he has to do. Matthew Libatique, director of photography: Marlon would literally be in the heaviest scene, and then cut and tell a joke. Whereas Jared and Jennifer really, it was harder for them. They had to interact with each other and deal with themselves.

Connelly: Our working relationship was good. It was at times slightly volatile — which I think was part of our characters and what they were going through at the time. It was sort of conveniently volatile during the volatile scenes, which was probably more of a reflection of our youth. Watson: They approached acting from a different place. Jennifer was a classically trained film actress, and she really hit her stride around take five, six and seven.

I love this movie, and yet I haven't sat through it as nearly as many times as I have my other favorites. It drains and exhausts, and the feeling of relief at the end is matched by profound sadness and a discomforting recognition. The addictions depicted in this film might be extreme and thus easy to dismiss as cautionary tales, but the viewer relates because it reflects our own society. Skip to main content. No Film School. By Justin Morrow.

March 7, Darren Aronofsky's 'Requiem for a Dream' is a one-of-a-kind film. Requiem for a Dream specifically, and Aronofsky generally, are interested in subjectively communicating their characters' journeys, rather than objectively a huge part of why it's such a perfect case study for effective filmmaking, as it makes the style that much easier to track. Every technique is used to get us as close to the brain of the characters as possible; we ain't playing God, we're playing His mere mortals.

As such, close-ups are the default frame of the picture, to the point where when the characters are arguably at their happiest which is to say, indulging in their addictions , we pivot to the most heightened, extreme, and downright abstracted versions of extreme close-ups there are. Most traditional dialogue scenes are covered in close singles, our actors' faces filling the frame. In fact, sometimes that's not enough for Aronofsky; during certain sequences of high stress or emotional terror, the camera is literally strapped onto a performer's chest a technique called SnorriCam, named after two Icelandic photographers , so when they run around their faces, our entryway into their psychological truth, remains stable as the world descends into chaos around them.

Whenever we move away from a close-up, it's for a startling shift in stakes within the film. Fisheye timelapse sequences show us how characters feel during the maniacal peaks of their highs.

Multiple bird's eye shots, starting close on an actor's face before pulling out to reveal them in a wide, serve as emphatic periods on where our characters' emotional states currently exist. And in one subtly compelling tracking shot during a charged conversation between Leto and Burstyn, Libatique jarringly moves the camera across the degree line — an invisible line camera operators use to place the camera in orienting positions during scenes — just as Leto realizes something horrible about Burstyn.

As filmgoers and makers, we can sometimes take simple decisions like "a close-up" for granted; Requiem for a Dream reminds us that no decision is inherent, and every decision is intentional. This process of intentional decision isn't more evident than in Requiem 's post-production techniques. Most notably, those extreme close-ups of abstract addiction — cocaine piles smashing against a black surface, heroin getting pushed down into a syringe, coffee getting obsessively sipped, pupils dilating in psychological and physiological shifting — are jammed against each other in rapid-fire, quick-cut montages, each image paired with a similarly jagged, abstracted sound effect.

These blasts of energy represent the fierce efficiency at which addicts can get high, the relentless change to one's emotional state getting high can bring a scene of Leto in tears followed by one of these montages followed by Leto appearing perfectly calm communicates this cleanly , and the general pace of living these characters are used to or prefer?

Beyond these mini-montages, the editorial pace of the film tends to move at a quicker-than-normal clip with slower-paced moments and longer takes doubling in their efficacy and intention , highlighted and emboldened by a notably unique, effective, and tethered-to-the-visuals score from Clint Mansell I'll save my music theory deep dive for another article, but I'll just say its usage of motifs, minimalist adjustments in arrangement, and corruption between classical and contemporary forms of music mimics Aronofsky's vision perfectly.

Quick cuts also highlight the inherent tragedy of the film, embedded within its very title: This characters will never be allowed to achieve their dreams. They will always be separated from them, their desires always cruelly snatched from their fingertips before they can truly touch — hence, quick cuts to avoid us and them getting too attached.

Trainspotting gives viewers a cast of highly charismatic guys while Requiem for a Dream gives viewers emotionally damaged characters. The two movies are obviously very different, so why is Trainspotting such an integral part of this list? It does things that Requiem for a Dream is unable to accomplish, while Requiem for a Dream is able to achieve success in different areas. Both are comparable for various reasons though. They have enough in common to warrant a comparison.

The Safdie brothers essentially put together a drug-themed horror movie that rivals Requiem for a Dream in terms of grit and realism. The cast and crew came together to create a film that depicts the most horrifying aspects of addiction. The raw intensity of the film likely had filmgoers wondering if the people involved had a mentor to tutor them on how to make a movie about heroin addiction.

Those people would be right in their suspicions. Heaven Knows What feels so real because in many ways it is real. The star of the film, Arielle Holmes, was tasked with writing a story based around her life as a heroin addict living on the streets of New York. This story was eventually turned into a film featuring a cast made up of mostly non-actors. A large percentage of the cast had the opportunity to play slightly modified versions of themselves.

Despite the fact that the cast members have no experience when it comes to acting, everyone is able to pull their weight.

In particular, Holmes is incredible. In one of the greatest breakthrough performances of , Arielle Holmes presents viewers with a character with countless layers. Holmes shows people who she is, for better or worse. The performances are surprisingly top notch, the sense of realism is admirable, and the somber portrayal of addiction is compelling. Heaven Knows What is one of the most underrated movies of the decade so far.