The Unending Requiem: The Agony and Artistry of Requiem for a Dream 25 Years Later
The Unending Requiem: The Agony and Artistry of Requiem for a Dream 25 Years Later A Jonathan Black Observation A quarter‑century ago, Requiem for a Dream landed like a gut punch on the collective psyche of cinema. Darren Aronofsky’s 2000 opus didn’t just depict addiction—it embodied it. Now, as we mark 25 years of this unapologetic study in obsession, we revisit a film that remains unnervingly alive in its capacity to both haunt and heal. Vision Born from Desperation Aronofsky wasn’t drawn to just a drug film—he gravitated toward anything that fills the emptiness inside us. As he told UrbanCinefile at the London Film Festival premiere: “What you’re gonna see is kind of intense … you’re gonna be feeling a lot of pain … It’s very upsetting. I’m sorry.” That blunt apology isn’t false modesty; it’s a warning. He later clarified that his interest lay not in heroin, but in how anything—TV, coffee, sex, “someone saying ‘I love you’”—can function as a drug, used to escap...
