Requiem for a Dream

Andy

July 8th

62%

Where do you start trying to describe a film that left everyone with opposite opinions. It was harrowing to watch of three characters who slowly become addicted to drugs in different ways. Mrs Goldfarb becomes addicted to weight loss drugs while obsessed with a TV game show - she is going to be invited on one day and she want to look her best.  Her disturbed state causes her to be admitted to a psychiatric ward, where she undergoes electroconvulsive therap after failing to respond to various medications.

Meanwhile her son Harry realises that there is money in selling drugs - he starts to inject the drugs himself and finds that he has made his arm infected such that it needs amputating. Harry's girlfriend Marion gets more involved as the money starts to run out and Harry pursades her to do a little bit of prostitution on the side to help balance the books. Of couse she takes drugs to avoid thinking about what she is doing. No happy endings in this film!

Scores were all over the place with Simon giving the film 1 and Andrew giving 18. Introduction and food scores were more consistent at about 80% each even though we had some funny cold fizzy red wine from Italy - i think it was a red proseco? Food was excellent with delicate bits of food on toast!

There was plenty of loud abuse after the film - mostly directed at Simon for giving such a low score for a film that is generally rated very highly by the critics. What do they know?

Some useful advice noted by a citic on IMDB:

When the characters take Heroin, either injected or snorted, the sequence showing their eyes dilating is inaccurate. Opiates produce a constricting of the pupil. However, the dilating is correct when the characters are using Ecstasy and Cocaine.