John Doe from Se7en once said "Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention." Nothing can be said to be any more true with Darren Aronofsky’s latest film Requiem For A Dream. Think of this film as "Trainspotting USA" circa the year 2000.

Requiem tells the story of four Coney Island individuals and there struggles with addiction to both legal and illegal drugs. Harry (Jared Leto), his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connely), and his best friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) are hopelessly addicted to heroin while Harry’s mother Sara (Ellen Burstyn) becomes addicted to diet pills. Harry and Tyrone come up with an idea to sell heroin at a huge profit while Harry promises Marion they’ll both save up money to open a clothing store together. Meanwhile Sara is called by a television station with the promise she’ll get to appear on T.V. Convinced she will get to appear on T.V. Sara digs out her favorite Red Dress only to discover that it no longer fits her. Sara there upon becomes addicted to diet pills.

With these new developments in their lives, the characters’ get a little taste of what success is like. The friends have some money while Sara is treated like a star by her friends. Aronofsky then blurs the lines of what the characters are really addicted to: it the drugs or is it the fame and fortune? As Summer ends and Fall is right around the corner, none of the characters are any closer to their goals. Having a little taste of the good life but not quite enough, the characters slip further and further into their addictions. Aronofsky’s previous film Pi was about the obsession with numbers and the chaos that results. Requiem For A Dream then is about the obsession with drugs and the chaos of addiction. The clothing store which Harry and Marion want to open and the red dress Sara wants to fit into become the symbols for that unattainable goal which drugs keep their reach: success and happiness.