Requiem for a Dream [Unrated] [Blu-ray]

Darren Aronofsky follows up on his critically acclaimed Pi with this grim fable about drugs and addiction. Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) is a bored and lonely widow who kills time watching infomercials and eating chocolate in her small Coney Island apartment. One day she receives a phone call telling her that she might have the opportunity to appear on her favorite TV game show. Beside herself with anticipation, she frets over her chocolate-induced weight and vows to return to her former svelte figure. With the help of a less than reputable doctor, Sara is soon on a steady regimen of uppers. Meanwhile, her deadbeat son Harry (Jared Leto) aims for his shot at quick success along with his buddy Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) by selling heroin on the street. Harry and his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) squirrel away dough so that they can open a boutique that will showcase her fashion designs. When drug deals go bad and the money starts to dry up, the three siphon off their wares for their own habits. At the same time, Sara descends further and further into a popper-induced psychosis. By the film's grisly climax, limbs are lopped off, flesh is pedaled, and electroshock therapy is administered. This film was screened at the 2000 Cannes and Toronto film festivals.