Requiem for a Dream

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writers: Darren Aronofsky, Herbert Selby Jr.
Released: October 27, 2000
Genre: Drama
Budget: $4,500,000
Gross: $7,390,108
Production Companies: Artisan Entertainment, Thousand Words, Sibling Productions, Protozoa Pictures, Industry Entertainment, Bandeira Entertainment, Requiem for a Dream, Truth and Soul Pictures
Runtime: 102 minutes
Rating: R
Sound mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1

Synopsis:

This film follows different plots. I'm going to separate the synopsis into two parts that I think will make it easier for you to understand and for me to explain. 

Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn)

Sara Goldfarb lives alone in an apartment complex. The complex houses many other old woman who Sara is friends with. She spends her days either out in the sun with her friends or inside watching infomercials. One day Sara receives a phone call informing her she has been chosen to be on television. She decides to lose weight and get back to the way she looked at her son, Harry Goldfarb's (Jared Leto), high school graduation. After attempting dieting and failing Sara sees a doctor her friend tells her about who helped their daughter shed weight quickly. The doctor gives Sara pills to take in the morning, afternoon, evening, and night. She does this and finds herself losing weight rapidly but she also begins to hallucinate. 

Her son comes to visit her at her complex and finds that she has been on "uppers." He warns her to stop taking the pills that they are making her ill. But Sara objects and tells Harry that she is going to be on television and it gives her something to live for. After Harry leaves she develops an addiction for the drug, her hallucinations worsen, but yet she still continues to use them. After not receiving a call from the people who told her she would be on television she leaves the confinements of her apartment and searches for  the studio. She finds the studio but the employees realize that she is not well. They call the cops who bring her to a psych ward. After failed attempts to treat Sara they turn to a more dramatic treatment method, Electroconvulsive therapy. Unfortunately, this does not help Sara. Sara loses her mind and does not even recognize her friends from the apartment complex.

Harry Goldfarb, Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly), and Tyrone Love (Marlon Wayans)

Both Harry and Tyrone, who are both heroin addicts, get into drug trade. Harry is saving the money so that one day him and his girlfriend, Marion (also an addict), can open a clothing store. Tyrone gets caught in the middle of a gang altercation and ends up in jail where Harry has to use a lot of his money to bail him out. After some time the drug trade slows and drugs become increasingly difficult to get ahold of. Harry and Marion then get into an argument because of money and drugs which sends Harry to Florida to hopefully find heroine. He finds some and injects it into his already infected arm at the site of the wound. The pain in his arm grows out of control and he goes to the hospital. His arm is checked out and Tyrone and Harry are thrown in jail. They both struggle through withdrawal in jail together. 

While Harry and Tyrone are in jail, Marion, craving her fix, contacts a man who she offers sex to for drugs. He makes her engage in a sex show where she has sex with another woman in front of a large crowd of people. Harry's arm gets even worse and he is taken to the hospital. He wakes up and his arm is gone. 

Commentary:

For this film's commentary I'd like to focus on four elements. The elements are editing, sound, acting, and narrative. 

Editing

Each time a character shoots up,

pops a pill,

or snorts a line,

a sequence is showed. The sequences are made up of extreme close-up shots to increase the intensity. The sequences repeat throughout the film. This repetition emphasizes the obsession or addiction the characters develop for the drugs. 

Sound

Each sequence is composed of a montage of sounds. As the film develops the sounds in the sequences take on a different form. You hear swords and knives sharpening and clashing,  you hear a sound we usually associate with fight scenes, and you hear a bomb exploding. All these sounds indicate battle or war sort of like the battle each character faces with their addiction. 

This video contains some (not all) of the sequences I am referring to:

Narrative

The narrative's use of seasons to separate plot adds another layer of understanding to the entire film's story. 

The stories all begin in summer. Summer represents harmony and perfection. Sara Goldfarb enjoys her infomercials and her chocolate every day while Harry and Marian are both deeply in love with each other. Everything in each character's life is perfect. 

Then fall comes which represents the anticipation of illness or cold coming. Each character in fall begins to be consumed by their addiction. Harry and Marion experience a falling out because they need money and drugs. Sara Goldfarb begins to lose her mind to her hallucinations. Harry's arm becomes infected due to unsanitary injection methods. 

Then in the winter death plagues the characters. Well, the characters do no die but parts of them do. Sara Goldfarb's dream of being on television diminishes when she ends up in a psych ward. She also loses her mind completely. 

Harry and Tyrone lose their freedom when they are put in jail.

Harry loses his arm to the infection. 

Marion loses her dignity to a man who forces her to have sex with another girl in front of a crowd for drugs. 

And Marion and Harry lose each other and their dreams of opening a clothing store with clothing Marion designs. 

Acting

Toward the conclusion of the film each character curls into the fetal position. These shots express their vulnerability. They are all now incompetent like a baby. They all need something to survive now other than the drugs they're addicted to. For Sara Goldfarb it's the psych ward to which she is dependent. For Harry Goldfarb it's the hospital he depended on to live. For Marion it is the pimp who gives her drugs in exchange for sex to which she depends on. And for Tyrone it is the jail he depends on for food, water, and shelter.

Requiem for a Dream is a film that will leave a huge impact on every single person who watches it. The film score is haunting enough to keep you up at night. Nevertheless, this film out does itself in teaching the audience the dangers of drug abuse. With hardcore scenes that are difficult to swallow and a sad storyline of washed up dreams. Requiem for a Dream does what a film is supposed to do. It tells you a story and leaves you with something to dwell on after viewing it. 

Safety Not Guaranteed

Director: Colin Trevorrow
Writers: Derek Connolly
Released: June 8, 2012
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Budget: $750,000
Gross: $4,001,584
Production Companies: Big Beach Films, Duplass Brothers Productions
Runtime: 86 minutes
Rating: R
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, Datasat
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1







Synopsis:
Darius Britt (Aubrey Plaza) is an abused intern at Seattle Magazine. Her, a writer Jeff Schwensen (Jake Johnson), and another intern Arnau (Karan Soni) decide to go on a work trip to find out about an ad that was in the paper. The ad reads:
"Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. P.O. Box 91 Ocean View, WA 99393. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before."

After stalking the P.O. box for sometime Darius finds the man responsible for the ad and follows him. She gathers as much information about him as possible. Jeff tries to talk to Kenneth Calloway (Mark Duplass) and become his his partner to go back in time with but Kenneth rejects Jeff. Consequently, Darius is told to attempt contact with Kenneth. She is successful. Darius gains Kenneth's trust and they both share with each other why they want to go back. Darius reveals she wants to prevent her mother's death and Kenneth reveals he wants to save a girl he liked from dying. They both develop a liking for each other. One that is much more than just a friendship but they keep it professional.

For the time being, Jeff searches for a girl named Liz (Jenica Bergere) who he once loved. They reconnect but unfortunately things do not work out. Jeff is heart broken and urges Arnau to live his life to the fullest and enjoy his glory days. They both spend a night out filled with drinking and carnival fun. At the conclusion of the night, Arnau finally hooks up with a girl.

The next day, Bridget Jeff's boss (Mary Lynn Rajskub), calls Jeff telling him that the girl Kenneth claims has died is in fact alive. Darius goes to interview her and comes to find the girl who is named Belinda (Kristen Bell) was never in a relationship with Kenneth. Belinda also tells her that a while ago Kenneth ran into her boyfriend's house with his car. 

This frustrates Darius and leads her to believe Kenneth is crazy and cannot time travel. She goes to his house looking for him. She accuses him of lying. But Kenneth insists she goes. She follows Kenneth to a boat where he seems to have intricate machinery and technology installed. Darius decides to go with Kenneth. They both kiss and Kenneth tells Darius he wants to go back for her instead. They start up the boat and the boat disappears along with them.

Commentary:
What I enjoyed most about this film was it's slick humor and intriguing scope. Throughout the entire film I was trying to figure out if Kenneth was crazy or if he actually could time travel. The jokes were also smart and undeniably funny. Aubrey Plaza carried each joke with a sense of charisma like none other. It was a romantic comedy that did not give me nausea. However, it was the message that really inspired me. The film encourages the audience to take risks, to cease the moment.

Safety Not Guaranteed expresses this message of ceasing the moment when Jeff tries to come in contact with an old girlfriend but decides not to after seeing that the years have taken a toll on her appearance. But Arnau encourages Jeff to just do it, to just give it a shot. Jeff does give her a shot and comes to find he really likes the girl.

Sadly, things do not work between Liz and Jeff and this encourages Jeff to make Arnau have some fun for once. Jeff tells him he needs to enjoy his time as a youth. So they spend the night out and go to a carnaval and drink alcohol. After returning back to the motel they were staying at Arnau is embarrassed to spend the night with a girl he met that night. But once again Jeff encourages Arnau to just have fun before it's too late.


Darius and Kenneth take the same risks when they both open up to each other and trust one another. Although, The last scene is the biggest risk taken in the entire film. Darius agrees to take a chance and attempt time travel with Kenneth. Darius was down the dock as if walking down the aisle in marriage. She meets Kenneth at the end of the dock where the boat meets the dock just like a groom would wait for his bride at the end of the aisle at the alter. They both kiss and just like they would after their vows are convened. This last scene centrally sums up the message of taking a risks in the name of love.

Zombieland

Director: Ruben Fleischer
Writers: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Released: October 2, 2009
Genre: Horror, Comedy (Zombie Comedy)
Budget: $23,600,000
Gross: $75,590,286
Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Pariah
Runtime: 87 minutes
Rating: R
Sound mix: Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1








Synopsis:
The film Zombieland takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where zombies are the top predator.

A survivor and the film's protagonist, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), has a list of rules in which he follows in order to survive. He presents this list in narration.

Columbus is looking to go to his hometown Columbus, Ohio to see if his parents are still alive. On the way he meets a man headed for Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson). Since they were both headed east they decide to keep each other company for the trip. 

Along the way, Columbus and Tallahassee run into two sisters, Wichita and Little Rock. One has been bitten and they need Columbus or Tallahassee to kill her before she turns into a zombie. Right before Tallahassee shoots the girl her older sister decides to kill her herself and takes the gun. However, the two girls reveal they were just scamming them. They take their gun, amo, and truck and take off leaving Columbus and Tallahassee abandoned.

Columbus and Tallahassee then go on search for a new truck and guns. Fortunately, they find a hummer with guns and amo in the back seat. They head east when they once again run into the two sisters who hold them both hostage and head to Pacific Playland in California. 

The four survivors stop at Bill Murray's house to come to find Bill Murray is still alive. But Bill plays a prank on Columbus which costs him his life. At Bill Murray's house Wichita and Columbus develop a romance for each other. They almost kiss but are interrupted by Tallahassee to build blanket forts. When Tallahassee and Columbus wake up the next day, however, they find Wichita and Little Rock leaving them once again. 

Upset and uneasy, Columbus decides to go after the Wichita. He finds them at Pacific Playland surrounded by zombies. Tallahassee then attracts all the attention to himself and kills a vast amount of zombies in the park. Surprisingly, Columbus breaks one of his rules and becomes the hero. He saves Wichita and Little Rock. 

Commentary:

Jesse Eisenberg's narration was exceptional and always reliably funny. The film was scattered with puns and not bad ones, but good intended puns. Even Emma Stone in her "scam artists" scenes was a delight. Overall Zombieland was fairly enjoyable and hilarious by the second. 

Throughout the film Wichita and Little Rock were always a step ahead Tallahassee and Columbus. Even when sparks fly between Wichita and Columbus she still leaves the next morning. As the film climaxed Wichita found themselves a step ahead but stuck. They got on a ride at Pacific Playland that goes up and down and after being surrounded by zombies they shot the control panel so they could stay high up. Columbus comes to the rescue and kills the zombies and gets them down.

Both Wichita and Little Rock being high up and above Columbus on the ride worked as a representation of how they were always a step ahead of the boys. They were always above them. But, like all the other times they screwed the boys over, they still needed them. In this case they needed Columbus and Tallahassee to kill the zombies and needed Columbus to pull the e-break and bring the girls back down. The ride moving down to the ground where Columbus stood was like bringing the girls to the same level as Columbus and Tallahassee. There were no more games, no more leaving, no more being a step ahead of the other person. From now on they were all together and all equal. 

Super 8

Director: J.J. Abrams
Writers: J.J. Abrams
Released: June 10, 2011
Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Budget: $50,000,000
Gross: $259,936,677
Production Companies: Paramount Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Bad Robot
Runtime: 112 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Sound mix: SDDS, DTS, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1







Synopsis:

Super 8 takes place in a small town of roughly 12,000 people.

The film begins with a young man, Joe Lamb(Joel Courtney) mourning the death of his mother.

Then a few months later his best friend Charles Kaznyk(Riley Griffiths) decides to shoot a zombie thriller to enter into a film festival. Charles asks Alice Dainard(Elle Fanning) to help them shoot a scene for the film.

The group of friends then go to the train station to film the scene. While going over lines and rehearsing the kids realize that a train is approaching. They cease this moment to film the scene and create what Charles calls "production value."While filming the scene a truck approaches the train head-on. The kids see this and quickly run for cover.

The collision with the truck and the train causes the train to derail. Once the coast is clear they approach the truck and come to find they're science teacher was the person driving the truck. Dr.Woodward(Glynn Turman) urges them to flee and never speak of what they saw again. 

After the event Alice and Joe develop a sort of romance for each other. Despite being told not to see each other, like Romeo and Juliet, they still keep contact. Meanwhile strange things begin to happen in the town. First, the air force arrives and gathers cubes, like the one Joe picks up and takes home after the event. Then all the local dogs go missing and are found but outside of the county, in surrounding counties. Car engines are being stolen, toasters, microwaves, anything with metal goes missing. Even some townspeople disappear. Alice is taken right in front of her father's face.

The town is then evacuated into an air force base. There Joe finds out that Alice was taken from her her father by the alien. He and his friends escape in search of Alice. First they go back to the school and find footage of what has been reaping havoc on the town. It was an alien. An alien that has been held hostage by the air force and tested on.

However, the air force catches up to them and confiscates all their stuff. On the way back to the base the alien attacks the bus and kills the members of the air force on it. The kids fortunately were able to escape. Joe and his friend Cary (Ryan Lee) go to the town cemetery where Joe had heard strange noises the night before. It is there where they find the cave in which the alien was working on building it's ship to go home.

Cary distracts the alien with fireworks while Joe saves Alice. The alien catches on and chases the three of them. They come to a dead end and Joe bravely tells the alien to leave. The alien understands and returns to building and finishing the ship.

The cubes that the air force was gathering earlier reveal their genius as they are used to create anything. In this case, they gather to create the ship. This attracts all metal in the area, including Joe's locket of his mom to which he holds onto throughout the entire film. He grabs the locket before it reaches the ship but decides to let go.

The ship takes off and the alien is finally able to return home. 

Commentary:

The film covered very familiar territory. There were elements similar to the stories of E.T., Cloverfield, and Romeo and Juliet. Although, the film stands alone as a piece of art and it did explore uncharted territory. What I appreciated most about this 2011 blockbuster was the Romeo and Juliet-like romance between Joe and Alice and the special effects. The special effects mimicked that of an 80's film which felt refreshing. Also, Joel and Elle were exceptional in their roles as Joe and Alice. 

But what I'd like to focus on in this section of the critique is the theme of isolation introduced in the beginning of the film.

The first shot of the first scene is a long shot of Joe's house and the swing set next to it. The shot only includes one person and that person is Joe. He sits on the swing set alone and mourns his mother's death while looking at her locket. This scene exhibits irony. We see swing sets as a toy as something for a child to have fun on but in this scene there is no fun being had on the swing set. This reminds the audience that children do not usually lose their parents to death. Children are supposed to be having fun and enjoying their innocence but here Joe sits upset and alone on the swing set. 

Meanwhile, people in his house attending his mother's wake discuss Joe and whether they think he will be okay. The separation between Joe and the people inside his house, including his mother's body, portray how alone and isolated Joe feels. 

Then Louis Dainard's car enters the scene. Louis is the man who Joe's mother was covering a shift for when the incident happened and she died. Louis attempts to speak to his father at the wake but is told to leave. The men get into an altercation inside the house and Joe's father quickly escorts him out of the house into his police car. The only human contact Joe experiences in this scene is when his father tells him that he will be back later. The cop car exits the scene once again leaving Joe to mourn alone. 

Although the film does address the theme many more times throughout it's 112 minute running time, this scene was the most important in portraying the theme of isolation. It is the first scene we meet Joe, the films protagonist, and it lets us in on how he feels right from the get go.