** out of 5
Thursday 07.05.2001
I rented this movie to watch while my friend and I babysat. Don't plan on getting any decent sleep after this one.
We rented the "edited" version, whatever that means, and it still made my stomach churn.
While I can recommend this movie for its performances; the subject matter feels like an anti-drug movie with some groovy lighting and flashy scenes thrown in to make a "major motion picture." I think that Requiem does present a true picture of the hopelessness of drugs and the destruction that they cause. Ellen Burstyn does a wonderful job of portraying a mother's addiction to her speed prescription. Although I think that the script carries that out a little too far, I can't doubt that what happened to her, has happened to someone along the way.
This movie isn't for kids, or even for adults with sensitive stomachs. Seeing Jared Leto's character shoot heroin into his blackened, dead arm was one of the most revolting things I have ever seen in a movie.
In conclusion, I have mixed feelings about this one. You couldn't pay me enough to see it again, but I am glad I saw it. Not everyone in the world is happy, so enjoy it if you are. Some people are truly living in hell.