Requiem For A Dream

All I could say as I watched "Requiem For A Dream" was oh my god, in agony. Oh my god.
All they wanted was happiness. All they wanted was a simple feeling, a place in life where everything is all right. Sarah wanted to be loved. Harry wanted those closest to him to be happy. Marion wanted a fashion shop. Tyrone wanted his mother's love. The four characters in this film wanted the state of life I live in and take for granted. God. And they were so close. Harry saw Marion in a red dress on the dock. It was just outside his window. But he got distracted when it was within reach, and then he could no longer take hold of the one thing he wanted more than anything.

I hesitate to say this is a good film, but I know that it is one. This film is not meant to be enjoyed, it is meant to be a warning. Mihir said that this film is perfect for showing anyone what addiction is like. While it made me cringe and cry out, it showed me the devastating effects that drugs and the subsequent addiction to them have on people. Good people. Normal people. People who only want to be happy. In the end, that's what everyone wants. Drugs are not some weird thing that dirty people do for malicious purposes. Essentially, they just want to not feel like shit. They want to be happy.

The heart of the story is found in the scene where Harry visits his mother and finds out she has been prescribed speed. In it, Sarah reveals why she wants to be on television.

Sarah: " I'm somebody now, Harry. Everybody likes me. Soon, millions of people will see me and they'll all like me. I'll tell them about you, and your father, how good he was to us. Remember? It's a reason to get up in the morning. It's a reason to lose weight, to fit in the red dress. It's a reason to smile. It makes tomorrow all right. What have I got Harry, hm? Why should I even make the bed, or wash the dishes? I do them, but why should I? I'm alone. Your father's gone, you're gone. I got no one to care for. What have I got, Harry? I'm lonely. I'm old. "
Harry: "You got friends, Ma."
Sarah: "Ah, it's not the same. They don't need me. I like the way I feel. I like thinking about the red dress and the television and you and your father. Now when I get the sun, I smile."

I have never had my heart break more than it did in this film. Sarah just wanted to be loved, to have people who needed her presence in their lives. She wanted purpose. And my heart broke because I saw her try to find her purpose in something that let her down. And Marion! She wanted to design fashion, but she succumbed to prostitution to feed her drug addiction. She is a good girl! But she got hooked onto something that wouldn't let her have a normal life. And now she has a jaded look in her eyes, the twinkle is gone, and she curls up on the couch after a night of sexual abuse with her panacea in her hand, a drug that will be gone in no time.

This film is important because it tells audiences how the other half lives, how the drugs actually affect you. It's not mysterious anymore--"Requiem For A Dream" feeds the truth to us by way of a syringe in our veins, direct and quickly working.