Directed by Darren Aronofsky, Requiem For A Dream (2000) unravels the elusive line between passion and an obsession that can become no less different from drug addiction. On a deeper level, the fate of each character underlines rampant issues of modernity, such as alienation, poverty, purposelessness, destruction of self-worth, and desperation for love and acceptance.
In her retirement years, poor widow Sara Goldfarb lives alone for infomercials that repeat the lines of “We got a winner!” to emerge herself in the feelings of victory and recognition. The junk phone call that deceives her to be the next winner alongside the psychiatrists and nurses in the hospital altogether reflect the cruelties and failures of modern society. Sara tumbles into delusion of being triumphant on the national stage with her son Harry and his girlfriend Marion as she suppresses her physical body in order to fit into an old red dress. The red dress, a recurring motif also seen on Marion in Harry’s hallucination, symbolizes reminiscence for the purity of youth and beauty, alluding to freedom, worthiness and happiness. Sara, originally ordinary, sweet and loving, falls prey to a profit-driven world of fabricated advertisements, false prescription and counterfeit medication, entrapping her in a permanent state of mental disorder and eternal isolation.
Similarly, while Harry, Marion and Tyrone, a buddy and business partner of Harry, depict the typical affairs of drug dealing and expected consequences of drug addicts, they illustrate that the addictive effects of (illegal) narcotics lead to the same forfeiture as an ordinary person with a violent obsession. Young and ambitious, they leverage on the drug market to escape from painful, imperfect reality and into their own temporary nirvana. All fail to fulfill their dreams. Each closes the eyes and returns to the fetal position, portraying a child-like fear and crave for motherly nurture, as though helpless and in want of guidance – a surrender for revival. There is immense pain yet simultaneously an uncomfortable peace.
Harry’s single eye on the film cover signifies the window of his soul. The black dilated pupil alludes to an obstruction as a result of drug intake. However, the vague reflection of blue skies and white clouds in his iris may be associated to his vision that never materializes. This illustration seen parallel to the bottom image of calm waters with Marion in the red dress implies an altered perception of reality, an illusion, and ultimately a confusion within oneself. Through split camera shots, Aronofsky paints a distorted world of absolute estrangement between individuals, even when people live together and experience the most intimate of bodily interactions.
Drugs take on a myriad of forms, and everyone suffers from one’s own – silently and oftentimes unconsciously. Virtually anything that disturbs the peace of the soul and causes an unmanageable dependency has imminent repercussions and can be potentially life threatening. A quick fix is after all, quick. Sara, Harry, Marion and Tyrone are victims of a great mirage: once excited of coming close to a dream but suddenly falling miserably away from it into a black hole.
