The ugly side of legal and illegal drug addiction painfully unfolds in this beautiful and very dark drama.

Darren Aronofsky will certainly break your heart with his second feature, Requiem for a Dream. Yes, it’s depressing but the film is also an exquisite piece of art that chronicles the desperation and sadness that surrounds drug addiction. On the one hand there is the young and beautiful couple who, with their friends, tumble down the dark road of hard drugs. On the other hand there’s the lonely mother whose delusional solitude leads to a dependency on diet pills/uppers. Somewhere in the middle is either the escape or the end.

Brooklyn Based: The mother’s apartment is located in Brighton Beach while many scenes are shot in neighboring Coney Island. Director Darren Aronofsky was born and lives in Brooklyn.

Part of Nitehawk’s THX BKLYN November series.