So I have just seen Requiem for a Dream. Definitely a decade too late. While I as well as many other people have definitely heard the epic score from Clint Mansell already, the movie is on a different scale entirely. Now, it's all praise, it's just that the genre has moved beyond the norm.
   I admit that for the majority of the film, I believed it to be too 'artsy'. It just threw too much at you too fast. However once the movie got going, the concepts were easier to understand as they were recycled many times. While there were many concepts in the film, I'm going to focus on one - one that is not too obvious, but unfortunately overused in just about everything else in society - the concept of love. (Spoilers ahead!)
   Many of the characters experience hallucinations at times of their peak high and during times of their distress. I'll start with the most obvious: Sara (Ellen Burstyn). When visited by her son, she eventually broke down, saying that life really wasn't worth living as her husband was dead and Harry's never around. Once she starts taking too many pills she starts hallucinating herself onthe TV show. In her short amount of glorious time on TV, she shares it with her late husband, son, and grandchild-to-be. All she wants is to be someone, and to have someone love her back. The joy of family and love is what she lives for, and she goes crazy in her attempt to show-off her life.
   Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) has flashbacks of what I assume to be from his childhood. These occur twice, once when he is high and about to make love; the other when he starts suffering from withdrawal. The instances occur when he is either mentally relaxed or stressed, indicating they were his primal thoughts. He sees himself with his mother, a character of safety and an embodiment of unconditional love...
   Harry's (Jared Leto) expression for love is pretty evident. He gives his mother a new TV set. He dreams of himself and Marion (the lovely Jennifer Connely) alone on a dock. He calls Marion when he's suffering in the hospital. Marion however, only really shows weakness once she starts suffering from withdrawal. Before going to the 'party' she receives a call from Harry, and expresses her need to see him. She really doesn't want to go to but rather just wants someone to keep her company and give her support.
    Essentially everyone want's comfort in their time of need. Whether it's a significant other or family, people's love for one another and the relationships they build are ultimately their lifelines. Anyways, I thought that it was a good movie, but I thought the ending was crap.