Book Vs. Movie: Requiem For a Dream (film)

Author's Rating:

Pros: stunning filmwork, brilliant performances

Cons: it's a disturbing ride

The Bottom Line: 
A brilliant job of translating a difficult and poignant novel.

Author's Review
The latest entry in my Book vs. Movie series is Requiem For A Dream. This hard hitting novel by Hubert Selby Jr has been transformed into a powerful movie by director Darren Aronofsky. Aronofsky was a fan of Selby’s writing before reading this novel. He felt the book easily worked into three acts and could be made in a film.

That led to the movie which came out more than a decade after the original publication of the novel. The film features some strong performances by the cast and an intense, fast moving visual impact. In the film I think the strongest performance was delivered by Ellen Burstyn. Her portrayal of Sara Goldfarb was delicate and sympathetic. The other actors also did a fine job of recreating the characters from the novel.

The film is about the descent into drug addiction. The four characters all find themselves falling into this trap. Sara Goldfarb becomes addicted to diet pills which adds an interesting twist to the film. No one is surprised when someone becomes addicted to heroin. Diet pills are legal and prescribed by a doctor. This kind of addiction and obsession is often overlooked in our society. Both Selby and Aronofsky have an awareness that it is also a very real problem plaguing our society.

The screenplay was also written by Selby. There are a few deviations from the narrative of the film. The game show host Tabby Tibbons is prevalent in the film but not in the novel. The locale is also changed. The book is set in the Bronx while the movie places the characters in Coney Island. This probably also caused some people (myself included) to initially think the film was based on Selby’s earlier novel Last Exit to Brooklyn. There is actually a movie based on Last Exit but I have never seen it.

The film is very graphic and depicts the descent into addiction very well. It is a truly ugly situation and this film makes that point very clearly. Aronofsky has pointed out that the hero of the film (novel) is addiction itself. It is more likely that it an antihero. Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto) and Tyrone C Love (Marlon Wayons) are best friends who enjoy the occasional taste of heroin. Harry’s girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) also follows them into this world of addiction.

Sara Goldfarb is interesting because she is not the young user we expect to see. She is lonely as her husband has passed away years ago. She insists on feeling that Harry is a good boy in spite the bad things he does. He steals her TV to buy drugs. She always manages to get it back from the pawn shop owner in a prearranged set up. She spends most of her day watching TV. Her problems arise when she believes she will be selected as a guest on a TV game show. She is concerned over her appearance because she can not fit into her favorite red dress. This eventually leads her to see a doctor who prescribes diet pills.

She begins to fantasize that moment when she will walk out on the show and be loved by millions. The obsession continues. All her friends are told that she will be on TV. She anxiously awaits notification of when she will go on the show. As she continues to take the diet pills and fast her weight gradually drops. Soon she is able to fit easily into her favorite dress. A particularly poignant scene is when Harry is disturbed by the knowledge that she is taking diet pills. He is obviously well aware of the dangers of the drugs and wishes her to stop taking them.

But Harry and Marion’s world is also beginning to unravel. Their own use begins to outpace the money being brought in from selling. Marion has to go sleep with her shrink to get money to buy drugs. She has now begun to prostitute herself for the drugs. Harry doesn’t like it but he is denying what is really happening. I think the book does a better job of getting into the psychology of the situation. Harry’s ambivalence is well drawn out in the book. The movie tends to move at a rapid pace and so you don’t get into a lot of psychological factors.

The ultimate downfall is when Harry and Tyrone decide to go to Florida to cop directly from the dealers. Marion has already begun a relationship with a pimp. She engages in lesbian acts to provide entertainment for a crowd. It is her low point as she will now do anything to obtain her fix. Harry and Tyrone end up getting arrested in the South. This is also the end of the road for them. Sara also ends up in a hospital. She is committed for shock treatments.

The movie is downright brutal in its depiction of the deterioration caused by drug addiction. They all end up losing everything. The movie has a more visceral impact than the book. That is due to the ability to shove the brutal images onto the screen. When Harry’s arm becomes infected you get close ups on this now deteriorating limb. The footage of the money disappearing from the locker is also illuminating. Money is also an addiction. That point is made in the novel as well. It’s a subtle point but one that should be well taken.

The scenes with Sara are also stunning. I can’t say enough about Ellen Burstyn’s performance in this film. She is brilliant in her sensitive portrayal of Sara Goldfarb. The hallucinations with the talking refrigerator and her delusions of being on the TV are disturbing. This descent is the saddest. She is a sympathetic character from the start and I felt she deserved a better lot in life throughout the film (or the book). This character comes closest to matching the subtleties and nuances captured in the book.

All the characters are well drawn. A young Jennifer Connelly is convincing as the dreamer who succumbs to a false vision. Jared Leto and Marlon Wayons also deliver fine performances. They do a good job of translating the initial euphoria and the ultimate nightmarish finish. Overall, I think this is an exceptional movie but I think the novel is a little better. There are nuances in the novel that do not really come through in the film. I like the sensitivity and compassion that comes out in the novel. Selby really does care about the characters and is very perturbed at the suffering they endure for their actions. Both are outstanding works.

Check out the book review:

http://www.epinions.com/content_135604440708