"We already know that drugs are bad."
Hahahahaha, whew, I needed a laugh, and that was hilarious.
Plus this movie was more about portraying the brutality of drug addiction then telling you drugs are wrong, I don't really think there's a message, there's just ugliness.
"Whoa" Keanu Reeves
"there's just ugliness"
Agreed. "Requiem For A Dream" is an ugly movie.
Fear And Loathing is definitely not anti-drugs.
It has nothing to do with drugs. It's about addiction in general. Seems like you missed the point.
Fear and Loathing may not intentionally be anti-drugs, but it sure as hell discouraged me from ever trying out the smorgasbord of drug trips the characters go through. Despite not condemning crepulence and drug indulgence, the horrific effects of drugs shines through bright as day. And by being positive about drug culture, it took an original approach that didn't come off as a preachy statement of the obvious.
Also, "It isn't about drugs, it is about addiction in general"? What are you talking about? If it was specifically about addiction (and not just drugs) then why is drug addiction the only form of addiction portrayed throughout? If you go to the trouble of setting up four separate characters for that purpose, you would show four different kinds of addiction: things like drugs, gambling, over-eating etc. The fact that all the character's addictions are drug related implies the movie is specifically going after drugs. Also, even if this movie was about addiction in general, the subject matter is still as obvious as ever. We all know "addiction iz bad".
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If you portray drug use somewhat realistically it'll be an anti-drug movie.
And one of the points of the movie is that prescription meds are just as bad as cocaine/heroin.
"Whoa" Keanu Reeves
Funny people.
It's like Lux Aeterna? I'm afraid you lost my support there :D Lux Aeterna is a fantastic song that deserves to be listened to again and again (which I have) and is the sole motivation for me wanting to see this movie :D
>If you portray drug use somewhat realistically it'll be an anti-drug movie.<
The funny thing here is, there's absolutely nothing realistic about drug use portrayal in Requiem. It's not "a bit unrealistic", it's not "somewhat unrealistic", it's total crap that has nothing to do with real life addicts. Well, truth be told, there's nothing realistic in this movie at all, but still.
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I honestly do not think you can defend frequent non-medicinal drug use. People who make excuses for their addiction - or worse, act like they're's nothing wrong with them and that drugs have no side effects - are dense, pathetic and deserve no sympathy. Virtually all druggies brought it upon themselves. Attention all drug users: EVERY single drug in existence has negative side-effects. You can be addicted to anything. And anyone who disagrees is in denial.
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Drugs R Bad
This movie is a lot like its theme tune Lux Aeterna: repetitive and over-wrought. The movie wants to illustrate that drugs are bad, a message so obvious that it doesn't really need conveying.
The movie's main failing is that it struggles to deliver that message as well as it could have, despite its simplicity. We are shown the downfalls of drug abuse through four over-ambitious characters who attempt to use drugs to get where they want in life. The problem is that none of these characters are remotely likeable or identifiable. They're unpleasant to the point that you expect the worst to happen to them, and aren't all that bothered when it does. It would have been a far more meaningful and emotional experience if I was given a protagonist I could like, instead of the argumentative, whiney, self-centred jerks we got. The movie uses these characters as cautionary tales, and proceeds to bash you over the head with the idea that drugs are bad over and over. That proves ineffectual. Heck, even this youtube video
does cautionary tales better.
As mentioned above, I don't see why this movie needed to be made. We already know that drugs are bad. For a movie to successfully point out this truism, it must do it in an interesting and unusual manner. Requiem played it straight, and we got a boring, unenjoyable movie out of it. I watched it back to back with another anti-drug movie called Spun, which was an indy comedy. I found Spun to be a far more engaging film because it took its anti-drug message and did something interesting with it, resulting in a suprisingly effective climax. My advice? Watch Spun. Watch Trainspotting. Watch Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. Watch any of those over Requiem For A Dream. They all convey the same message better, and in a far more nuanced fashion.
Oh and PS. I hate the theme tune. The only thing that makes it worse is the way it gets overused in every amateur youtube video that wants to be dramatic, along with "Let The Bodies Hit The Floor".