Requiem for a dream [DVD] (D)

Although the plot of “Requiem for a dream” revolves around four very human humans, the hero of the film is undoubtedly addiction. Addiction to food, to heroin, to diet pills, and that most everyday habit, to television. If film noir attacked The American Dream, then Darren Aronofsky’s follow-up to “Pi” sees that dream kidnapped, tortured and burned. This is exacted in the junkie lifestyle of Harry and his friends, as well as the loneliness of his mother, portrayed by Ellen Burstyn, whose performance makes “Requiem for a dream” one of the best movies of 2001. A victim to heroin chic but also, eventually, a critic, this film is aimed at a young audience but takes the unusual step of actually having something to say. The screenplay was written by Aronofsky and Hubert Selby Jnr (‘Last Exit To Brooklyn’), based on the latter’s novel. It also features one of the most progressive film soundtracks of recent years, written and performed by Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet.