Delusional dreams turn into dark nightmares in Aronofsky film
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Tuesday, January 4, 6:30
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com
Darren Aronofsky’s REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is a devastating portrait of addiction, featuring one of the most brutal endings in cinema history. Based on the novel by Hubert Selby Jr. (LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN), who cowrote the screenplay with Aronofsky, the film focuses on four central figures: Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn), a lonely widow living in Brighton Beach who learns that she might appear on a television program so is desperate to lose weight to fit into her red dress, ultimately getting lost in a haze of prescription drugs; her son, Harry (Jared Leto), a junkie looking to make a big score; Harry’s girlfriend, Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly), who dreams of becoming a fashion designer but has to decide how far she will go for her next taste; and Harry’s partner in crime, Tyrone Love (Marlon Wayans), who shoots up while remembering the warm comfort of his mother’s arms. Using repetitive fast-paced editing, enhanced sound effects, and a harrowing score by Clint Mansell, Aronofsky creates a nightmare world where delusional dreams come crashing down with horrific consequences. The acting throughout is a veritable tour de force, led by Burstyn’s Oscar-nominated descent into hell. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is screening at the Walter Reade Theater as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s two-day series, “Darren Aronofsky’s Dreams and Nightmares,” being held on the occasion of the release of his latest film, BLACK SWAN. REQUIEM is being shown on January 4 at 6:30, followed by Aronofsky’s ambitious 2006 flop, THE FOUNTAIN, at 9:00. The next night, the Brooklyn-born Aronofsky will participate in a special conversation following the 6:15 screening of his 2009 hit, THE WRESTLER, with the brief festival concluding at 9:15 with his creepy 1998 mathematical debut, PI (π).