Requiem for a Dream (2000)

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Plot Summary

The film opens in the Summer with Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto) and Tyrone Love (Marlon Wayans) pawning off his mother's television for money to buy drugs. Harry's mother, Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn), hides in the closet as this is happening, much to Harry's frustration and disappointment. As Harry leaves her house with her television, Sara out loud to her dead husband, reassuring him that in the end everything will be alright.

Tyrone and Harry come up with a plan to start selling drugs.

After getting high Harry and Tyrone decide that they should start selling drugs themselves. With the stuff they're getting they can easily cut it and make more than double in profit. Sara buys her television back from the pawn shop owner and returns home to watch her favourite show, an informercial hosted by the charismatic Tappy Tibbons (Christopher McDonald). Soon after she receives a phone call saying that she has a chance to be on television. With this once in a lifetime opportunity, Sara asks her friends for help to get back in an old red dress of hers and one of them gives her a diet book.

Harry and his girlfriend, Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly), sneak onto the top of an apartment building together. Marion complains about her parents never trusting her and Harry tries to convince her to open her own store to sell clothing. Later that evening at a party Tyrone tells Harry and Marion about this job he's been offered that will make the three a lot of money, the only thing is they'd need to make some money first.

The three getting high and partying.

Sara's friend Ada (Louise Lasser) dyes Sara's hair red, back to how it was at Harry's graduation. It doesn't turn out like Sara expected and with the disappointment from that and the difficulty of eating scraps on the diet Sara asks another friend for the number of a doctor who gave their niece some diet pills. After the party Harry tells Marion about a plan he has to open a store for her with the money they'll make from selling drugs.

Marion visits her old shrink in order to get some money for the drugs. Harry is nervous about it, but Marion tells him that there isn't anything to worry about, she isn't going to sleep with him. With this money they are able to get enough drugs to start selling, Tyrone figures that the two of them should have a taste. Harry says that they shouldn't and that they need to sell these drugs right. Tyrone insists that the taste is just to know how much to cut.

Sara at the doctor's office getting prescribed some diet pills.

Sara visits a doctor who prescribes her with some diet pills; four pills she takes everyday and she can eat whatever she wants. Tyrone and Harry begin to push the drugs and over a few nights they make a ton of money. With this money Harry and Marion start looking at a space for a store for Marion. Harry also decides that because he's been so disrespectful to his mother he wants to buy her a gift, he decides that he should get her a TV considering she loves it so much.

Sara has been on the pills for a few days now and has been losing weight and having lots of energy, however she has noticed that her jaw seems to be clicking constantly. Bored of television, she goes and sits outside her apartment with her friends until Harry shows up. Inside her place the two talk about Harry's love life and future with Marion. Harry tells Sara about the television and she's ecstatic about it until Harry tells his mother that she's on uppers and she needs to stop taking those pills.

Sara and Harry talk in her apartment.

Sara responds by explaining to Harry that she's doing this because she's going to be on television. She's changing her life and actually doing something with herself because before this she just sat around alone and sad all the time. Harry eventually leaves her place and begins to cry in a taxi until he shoots up with heroin and then just dazes off.

Fall starts with Tyrone sitting in a car with a bunch of his suppliers. They talk about how Tyrone is working well because he isn't an addict and they could see him going far. Suddenly the driver turns around and guns down the people in the car. Tyrone escapes and runs down the street covered in blood until the cops tackle him down and arrest him.

Tyrone in prison.

Sara calls the doctor's office and explains to them that the pills they gave her don't seem to be working for her anymore. The nurse tells her that's normal but Sara responds by taking more pills throughout the day. Harry bails Tyrone out of jail but mentions to him that they got most of their money. Tyrone says that they don't have a supplier anymore except for a guy named Big Tim, but he only gives it up for women.

Marion tries to convince Harry to push off before going back to bed.

Now without drugs the three begin to feel the pain. One night Marion wakes up in a sweat and pain and asks Harry if they could take a hit of what little they have. When they wake up Harry tells Marion that Tyrone wasn't able to score anything for them and she yells at Harry for being so hot and heavy and wanting to take a hit last night.

Sara begins to feel the withdrawal and begins to take more and more of the pills. She continues to watch the Tappy Tibbons show to the point that it's all she's doing with her time. She visits the doctor to ask for help but the doctor just shrugs her off and tells her to keep taking the pills.

Now desperate for some drugs, Harry tells Marion about a possibility. The only problem is they'd need some money; Harry asks her to see her shrink and she warns him what she'll have to do for the money. Marion goes for dinner with the shrink and after sleeping with him she leaves his apartment depressed and disgusted, but with some money in the process.

Tyrone and Harry follow a lead and go to a grocery store where a big supply is coming in. During the deal at the grocery store one of the many addicts gets too crazy and begins to go for the drug truck. The people in the drug truck open fire and cause everyone to run from the grocery store. While outside Harry and Tyrone notice the truck of drugs was from Florida. When Harry gets home Marion yells at him for not getting any drugs and blames him for it. In a fit of rage, Harry gives Marion Big Tim's number saying if she wants it so bad she can call him for it.

Sara's hallucinations invade her own apartment.

In her drugged state Sara begins to hallucinate in her house. While watching the Tappy Tibbons show her refrigerator starts to make demonic sounds. Soon her apartment is being ripped apart and becoming the studio for the show itself. A giant nightmarish conga-line is formed around her and in a panic she runs from her apartment and, in the process, showing the TV was sitting on a dead channel the whole time.

Winter begins with Harry and Tyrone driving to Florida to try and score some drugs and start selling again. Sara runs through the streets like a crazy person telling everyone she needs to get to the television studio. Marion spends her time detoxing from the drugs and getting angrier and angrier.

In prison, Harry's infected arm becomes too much for him.

When Sara arrives at the television studio the office workers all gather around in concern as an obviously drugged up woman rants about how she wants to be on television. They call the hospital and some people pick her up and take her away. Tyrone notices Harry's arm is becoming infected from all of the heroin and makes him visit a hospital for it. Marion becomes more desperate and decides to call Big Tim, she has sex with him and he invites her to a party he's hosting for girls like her.

At the hospital Sara is ultimately unresponsive and the doctor tries various treatments on her until she is eventually put into electroconvulsive therapy. Harry's arm gets a bad response from the doctor and he calls the cops who come and arrest him and Tyrone. While in jail Tyrone is put to work while Harry is sent to a hospital to get his infected arm cut off. Marion attends Big Tim's party which is full of greasy business throwing money at a group of women all having sex with each other.

This all comes together with Sara retrieving the treatment, Harry getting put under for surgery, Tyrone puking while working in prison and Marion having sex with another female as businessmen cheer around her. When Harry wakes up he asks for Marion and the nurse says she'll come but he knows she won't. Tyrone spends his night in prison thinking about his dead mother. Marion goes home and, looking quite sickly, relaxes, proud of the drugs she has.

Marion moves into the fetal position holding her drugs closely.

Sara, now lost in a broken mind, is visited by her friends in the psychiatric ward of the hospital and the two break down into tears. She goes to her bed, curls into the fetal position and dreams of herself on the Tappy Tibbons show. On the show, Harry is her special guest who is a successful businessman, married to Marion and has a kid on the way. The film ends with Sara and Harry saying they love each other and embracing as the crowd applauds around them.

Style

Requiem for a Dream's style is immediately recognized. The movie features extreme close ups to quickly paced sound effects whenever there is a moment where a character is taking drugs. The drug itself doesn't matter, whether it is heroin, cocaine or speed, all the drugs feature the same cuts.

An example of four shots that feature the close ups during a drug sequence involving Marion snorting cocaine.

Another stylistic choice in Requiem for a Dream is a long shot with a lot of character action and movement that is sped up so the character is moving at a lightning place. This is usually done to accompany a character being high on drugs. Notable moments of this include when Harry, Marion and Tyrone are partying and another moment is when Sara is cleaning her entire apartment.

An example of six shots of Sara cleaning her apartment. These are done in high speed and took nearly 45 minutes to take the shot.