Requiem for a Dream

            The 2000 film Requiem for a Dream directed by Darren Aronofsky shows the two sides of addiction, one that shows what most people think of as addiction and a more socially acceptable one of Sara’s addiction to the pills her doctor gave to her.

            The lighting at the beginning of the film was much brighter and happier than when the movie progresses.  The character’s addictions haven’t spiraled out of control yet.  As Harry and his mother, Sara’s, addiction start taking over their lives the lighting becomes much darker and limiting the visibility of the characters.

            Another element that changes as their addictions grow is the length of the cuts.  In their normal life, the cuts were smooth and slower paced.  Then when the characters use their drug of choice the cuts become much more fast pace.   While an average one hundred minute movie has about 600 cuts, Requiem for a Dream has more than 2,000.  The length of the scenes begin to shorten as the pace quickens.  Scenes at the beginning of the film range from one minute to two minutes, but the climax of the film are put together in a very rapid pace.  Other elements that are used extensively are split screen and extremely tight close ups, which he alternates with extreme long shots to show the fantasy and reality of the character’s lives.