The cause of addiction is that the drugs work all too well when you first take them.
The euphoria and mind expanding potential is not glossed over in in Darren Aronofsky‘s 2000 movie Requiem For A Dream but neither are the gruesome tales of misery and despair that follow.
The film is based on a novel by Hubert (Last Exit To Brooklyn) Selby Jr, a man who knows all about the whys and wherefores of getting hooked as he was dependent on painkillers and heroine for the early part of his life.
Selby kicked his habit before he was 40 but the notion that addiction is something that goes with youthful delusion and naivety is dispelled in this novel/movie.
The most heartbreaking character is that of Sara Goldfarb (played brilliantly by Ellen Burstyn) as the widowed mother of Harry. In her lonely existence, daytime television is her only comfort and when a cold caller says she has won a place a game show her life takes on a new purpose. Continue reading
