User Reviews

I for one couldn't stand it. Firstly its concept was far too obvious: We know drugs are bad, do we need to be shown that they are bad? Of course, but do it in an interesting way. I'd like to compare this film to an anti drug film i much prefer called "SPUN". SPUN is an independent film which for much of the time is a graphic and crude comedy, which depicts the lives meta-amphetamine addicts. This comedy might seem to glamorise the drug influx (in a similar way to FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS), however it serves to perfectly to lull you into a false sense of security, as you are greeted with the vastly contrasting final scene of depression . RFAD is a perpetual onslaught of harsh imagery that increased in intensity towards the end. This slow crescendo of grotesque got on my nerves, and I found myself growing apathetic to what was going on. By the end, I was mostly disinterested with the characters, which is tragically the reverse of what the film was trying to achieve.

As well as the continuous decline into doom for the protagonists, I was annoyed by the sheer amount of times the main theme (REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) was played. The tune is vastly long and exceptionally repetitive in it's own way, without it being played on what seemed like a continuous loop through out the film. It was doing my head in. There was some good editing, such as the fast fire montage thing, they show whenever a character imbibes some more drugs. Unfortunately, I had already seen a very similar thing used in SPUN a week before, so I was bored by that too.

In short, I found the film so monotonous and repetitive that I hated it. I'm not suggesting that monotony in itself is a bad thing, and can be used to make some great films (see IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE) however when I am presented with the same obvious messages time and time again, in such a draining way, I find myself having to take as many bathroom breaks as possible to try and bring some variety to the show.