The cult-classic film, Requiem For A Dream ( Lux Aeterna ), is considered to be Darren Aronofsky’s masterpiece. The film captures the stunning performances of Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans who were at their very best on this movie. Jared Leto and Ellen Burstyn should have even gotten the Academy Award that nigh if you ask me. Requiem for A Dream ( Lux Aeterna ) is an enigmatic, dismal and even despairing look into the dark corners of addiction.

Requiem for A Dream’s story revolves around the lives of four people who’s dreams and hopes were shattered when their addictions starts spinning out of control. The Story may be bleak and depressing but Requiem for a Dream is a brilliant look into superb cinematography and film-making. Aronofsky’s fast-cutting (editing) technique which he calls hip-hop montages is present from start to end to suggest mayhem and chaos and in Requiem For A Dream ’s context, it represents the repetitive nature caused by the effects of addiction.

There were times when I find myself pinching my arm to remind me that Requiem for a Dream is just a movie as the movie’s realism is geniune that you can feel that you embody  each character’s pain and agony as their lives come to a halt. This is how gripping Requiem for a Dream is, just like real-life addictions are.

Lastly, on the melodic side of things, Requiem For A Dream could not be what it is without Clint Mansell’s incredible orchestral compositions, mainly the beautiful main thematic song, Lux Aeterna topped off with strings courtesy of the Kronos Quartet. To say that the cinematic soundtrack did not play to the tone of the film would be sacrilegious.