#5 – Requiem for a Dream

Based on a book by Hubert Selby Jr., Darren Aronovsky’s 2000 movie follows heroin addicts Harry and Tyrone (Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans) as they try to pull off a huge drug deal. Also in the picture are Harry’s girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) who longs for fame and fortune, and his mother Sara (Ellen Burstyn) who wants nothing more than to lose weight and fit into her beloved red dress so she can be on a game show.

The movie beautifully deconstructs how destructive hopeless dreams can be. It ends with Marion prostituting herself for heroin, Sara in a mental hospital after overdosing on weight-loss amphetamines, and Harry and Tyrone in jail for possession. Harry has also lost an arm to an infected injection site, and has given up hope of Marion ever loving him again thanks to his actions. This movie is not recommended when you’re feeling sad.